Table 2.
Patients discontinuing glatiramer acetate: reasons for discontinuation and next-line treatments
| All | No next-line treatment | Interferons | Natalizumab | Fingolimod | Mitoxantrone | Othersb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reason for discontinuationa | N = 457 | N = 226 | N = 96 | N = 81 | N = 7 | N = 17 | N = 30 |
| Missing data | N = 2 | N = 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Inadequate efficacy | 177 (38.9%) | 38 (17.0%) | 34 (35.4%) | 72 (88.9%) | 5 (71.4%) | 10 (58.8%) | 18 (60.0%) |
| Local tolerability issues | 103 (22.6%) | 60 (26.8%) | 32 (33.3%) | 5 (6.2%) | 1 (14.3%) | 2 (11.8%) | 3 (10.0%) |
| General tolerability issues | 71 (15.6%) | 48 (21.4%) | 19 (19.8%) | – | – | 3 (17.6%) | 1 (3.3%) |
| Abnormal laboratory tests | 4 (0.9%) | 4 (1.8%) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Occurrence of a serious adverse event | 7 (1.5%) | 5 (2.2%) | 2 (2.1%) | – | – | – | – |
| Personal convenience | 97 (21.3%) | 78 (34.8%) | 14 (14.6%) | 1 (1.2%) | 1 (14.3%) | 1 (5.9%) | 2 (6.7%) |
| Planned discontinuation | 34 (7.5%) | 16 (7.1%) | 8 (8.3%) | 6 (7.4%) | – | 1 (5.9%) | 3 (10.0%) |
| Pregnancy or breastfeeding | 5 (1.1%) | 4 (1.8%) | 1 (1.0%) | – | – | – | |
| Other reasons | 80 (17.6%) | 46 (20.5%) | 7 (7.3%) | 14 (17.3%) | 1 (14.3%) | 4 (23.5%) | 8 (26.7%) |
Data are presented as the number of patients (%)
aMore than one reason for discontinuation could be provided and these classes are thus not mutually exclusive
bThese were azathioprine (N = 5) and cyclophosphamide (N = 25), neither of which are approved for use in MS