Smoking in combination with antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides is associated with persistently high levels of survivin in early rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective cohort study
Introduction: High levels of the oncoprotein survivin may be detected in the majority of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Survivin is a sensitive predictor of joint damage and persistent disease activity. Survivin-positive patients are often poor responders to antirheumatic and biological treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of survivin status and i