[Treatment of giant cell arteritis: what is in the pipeline?]

Glucocorticoids (GC) represent the standard treatment in remission induction and maintenance in the treatment of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Additive immunosuppressants are currently only recommended in special situations, such as refractory or relapsing disease or in cases of glucocorticoid-induced side effects. Methotrexate has been the standard steroid-sparing agent for many years. Meanwhile, tocilizumab is the first choice for steroid reduction, which was the first biological to be licensed for the treatment of GCA; however, long-term data over more than 3 years are lacking. A number of promising bDMARD and tsDMARD are currently being investigated in randomized controlled trials (RCT), which could contribute to additional effective steroid-sparing options in the treatment of GCA and help to establish an additive GC-sparing medication as the standard treatment in the future. This article gives an overview on current treatment studies for GCA.