BACKGROUND: Tofacitinib is an oral small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). The tofacitinib OCTAVE clinical program included phase III induction (OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2) and maintenance (OCTAVE Sustain) studies, and an open-label, long-term extension study (OCTAVE Open). OBJECTIVE: This post hoc analysis assessed selected long-term, disease-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) measurements in patients with UC receiving tofacitinib in the OCTAVE clinical program. METHODS: Analyses included patients from OCTAVE Open assigned to tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (subpopulation in remission at Week 52 of OCTAVE Sustain). OCTAVE Open data from the final analyses are shown to Month 48. Endpoints included rectal bleeding subscore (RBS) = 0, stool frequency subscore (SFS) </= 1, and HRQoL measure, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) remission (IBDQ total score >/= 170); with non-responder imputation for missing data at all visits, and last observation carried forward for visits after a patient advanced to the next study (NRI-LOCF). Observed cases were also assessed. RESULTS: At Month 48, of 175 patients, 95 (54.3%) and 96 (54.9%) achieved/maintained RBS = 0 and SFS </= 1, respectively (NRI-LOCF). Additionally, 93 (53.1%) patients achieved/maintained IBDQ remission at Month 48 (NRI-LOCF). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients who entered OCTAVE Open in remission, most maintained normalization of rectal bleeding and improvement in stool frequency for </= 4 years of follow-up in OCTAVE Open. IBDQ remission was also generally maintained in OCTAVE Open. These data show robust maintenance of key UC PROs and durability of response with tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily. TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov (NCT01465763 [21/10/2011]; NCT01458951 [21/10/2011]; NCT01458574 [21/10/2011]; NCT01470612 [21/10/2011]).