Anti-Inflammatory Therapy in Coronary Artery Disease: Colchicine, IL-1β, and Beyond

Inflammation is now recognised as a core driver of coronary artery disease (CAD), operating alongside traditional lipid and thrombotic risk factors. Even with optimal lipid lowering and antiplatelet therapy, many patients carry a substantial residual inflammatory risk that continues to fuel plaque progression and instability. Landmark trials of low-dose colchicine in chronic and acute CAD have shown meaningful reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, leading to the first regulatory approval of an anti-inflammatory, atheroprotective therapy for cardiovascular prevention. In parallel, cytokine-targeted strategies directed at the interleukin-1-beta, interleukin-6, and interleukin-17/23 axes are being explored as more selective ways to interrupt the atherosclerotic inflammatory cascade. Together, these advances mark a shift toward inflammation as a treatable target in routine CAD care.This Research Topic aims to consolidate current evidence and stimulate new work on anti-inflammatory approaches to coronary artery disease, with particular attention to colchicine and interleukin-pathway therapies. Despite promising trial data, important questions remain about which patients benefit most, how to select and monitor them using inflammatory biomarkers, and how anti-inflammatory agents should be combined with established lipid-lowering and antithrombotic treatment. Concerns around long-term safety, tolerability, drug interactions, and real-world implementation also need clearer answers. By bringing together clinical, translational, and mechanistic contributions, we hope to define the place of anti-inflammatory therapy in modern CAD management and to identify the most promising targets beyond colchicine and IL-1β, ultimately supporting a more personalised, inflammation-informed approach to reducing residual cardiovascular risk.We welcome Original Research, Clinical Trials, Systematic Reviews, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Perspectives, and Case Reports on: colchicine in primary/secondary CAD prevention; IL-1-beta, IL-6, and IL-17/23 axis inhibition in atherosclerosis; biomarker-guided patient selection (hsCRP, IL-6); mechanistic studies of inflammation in plaque progression; safety and drug-drug interactions of anti-inflammatory agents; combination with lipid-lowering/antithrombotic therapy; emerging targets (e.g., NLRP3 inflammasome, TNF-alpha); and health-economic/implementation aspects of anti-inflammatory therapy in CAD. Topic editors: Ilia Fishbein, Josip A. Borovac Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84236/anti-inflammatory-therapy-in-coronary-artery-disease-colchicine-il-1-and-beyond