Current and future anti-TNF therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

Opinion statement Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF) therapy has become a very important modality in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. A number of anti-TNF medications have been investigated for this purpose, many via randomized controlled trials. Infliximab, the most studied of these agents, has shown impressive efficacy in the treatment of luminal and fistulizing Crohn’s disease, as well as ulcerative colitis. Adalimumab and certolizumab have shown similar efficacy in Crohn’s disease but have not yet been studied in ulcerative colitis. Less impressive results were seen in randomized controlled trials involving CDP-571, etanercept, or onercept for patients with Crohn’s disease. Thalidomide and CNI-1493 have been evaluated only preliminarily in small, open-label pilot studies in patients with Crohn’s disease. The future of anti-TNF therapy in inflammatory bowel disease is very bright, as exciting new developments continue to be made at a rapid pace.