What is the optimal tanezumab dose, administration route for osteoarthritis pain?

Intravenous treatment with tanezumab at 10 mg achieves the highest efficacy in terms of relieving pain in patients with osteoarthritis (OA), according to the results of a network meta-analysis.

Researchers accessed multiple online databases and performed a systematic search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the therapeutic effects of different dosages and methods of injection of tanezumab to mitigate OA pain.

Of the 328 RCTs initially identified, 12 were included in the network meta-analysis. Fixed effects models were applied and subsequently assessed using a software. The researchers calculated the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) curve value of each intervention to obtain a hierarchy of treatments.

Results showed that the most effective treatment with respect to both the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain and physical function subscales was intravenously administered tanezumab at 10 mg. The corresponding SUCRA curve values were 90 percent and 88 percent.

Meanwhile, the least effective therapy was a subcutaneous injection of tanezumab at 2.5 mg. The SUCRA curve values were 20 percent for WOMAC pain and 19 percent for the physical function subscale.  

The researchers advised caution when interpreting the results, owing to the small sample size of the studies included in the meta-analysis and data heterogeneity. More studies are needed to address these limitations and to validate the findings.