The particular setting of an inception cohort of early RA patients (< 12 months from symptom onset), untreated at baseline and homogeneously treated with MTX monotherapy according to a steering strategy enabled us: a) to minimise the influence of possible confounders, such as disease duration and type of medication, on CXCL13 specific associations and predictive values, and b) to determine its cross-sectional and prognostic significance in a "real-life" clinical platform. Here, CXCL13 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.