OP01 PROFILE: a multi-centre, randomised, open-label, biomarker-stratified clinical trial of treatment strategies for patients with newly-diagnosed Crohn’s disease

Abstract Background Clinical outcomes differ substantially between patients with Crohn’s disease and there is variability in how newly-diagnosed patients are managed. Recent interest has focused on developing biomarkers to predict outcomes and guide therapy. PROFILE was designed to evaluate the clinical utility of a blood-based prognostic biomarker in patients randomised to "top-down" or "accelerated step-up" treatment strategies for newly-diagnosed Crohn’s disease. Methods PROFILE (PRedicting Outcomes For Crohn's dIsease using a moLecular biomarker, ISRCTN 11808228) was an open-label, biomarker-stratified, randomised controlled trial. It enrolled adults with newly-diagnosed active Crohn’s disease (Harvey Bradshaw Index ≥7 and C-reactive protein > upper limit of normal or faecal calprotectin ≥200 ug/g, plus endoscopic evidence of active inflammation) in 40 UK hospitals. Following biomarker testing patients were randomised to "top-down" (infliximab/immunomodulator) or "accelerated step-up" (conventional) treatment stratified by: biomarker subgroup (termed IBDhi/IBDlo), endoscopic inflammation (mild/mod/severe) and extent (colonic/other). The primary endpoint was sustained steroid and surgery-free remission to week 48. The key secondary endpoint was endoscopic remission (absence of ulcers). The full analysis population (equivalent to ‘intention-to-treat’) was analysed. Results 386 patients were randomised from 29 December 2017 to 5 January 2022. Median time from diagnosis to trial enrollment was 12 days (0-191). Primary outcome data were available for 379 eligible participants. Sustained steroid and surgery-free remission was significantly more frequent in "top-down" (79% of 189 patients) compared to the "accelerated step-up" arm (15% of 190 patients), with an absolute difference of 64% (95% CI=57-72%, p