Safety profile of methotrexate in inflammatory bowel disease

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Methotrexate, which was initially developed in 1948 for the treatment of leukemia, is known to be an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory drug. It has been widely used for over 60 years as both a low and high-dose therapy in chronic inflammatory diseases. The aim of this review was to analyze and summarize the available data specifically on the safety of this drug in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Areas covered: A structured search of articles was conducted using the PubMed database up to April 2016. All articles in English with isolated or combined keywords were included according to their relevance to the aims of this study.

Expert opinion: Numerous of studies have established the efficacy of parenteral methotrexate in the management of steroid-dependent and steroid-resistant Crohn’s disease, either for inducing or maintaining remission. However, its efficacy in ulcerative colitis has not been properly investigated. Additionally, methotrexate has been shown to reduce the effect of immunization with anti-TNF agents when combined. The drug has potential advantages over thiopurines such as its weekly administration, a possible shorter time of action, low cost, decreased risk for malignancy and overall a comparable safety profile.

KEYWORDS:

• Methotrexate
• safety
• side effects
• inflammatory bowel disease
• Crohn’s disease

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending or royalties.

Additional information

Funding

There was no funding for this paper.