A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Remission Induction with Modified Multitarget Therapy with Intravenous Cyclophosphamide in Proliferative Lupus Nephritis

INTRODUCTION: Therapy of proliferative lupus nephritis (PLN) is yet to be optimized. Standard of care for induction consists of intravenous (IV) cyclophosphamide (CYC) and steroids, which shows an improved outcome, but end-stage renal disease (ESRD) progression, increased mortality, and therapy-related adverse effects remain a major concern. The other treatment reported to induce early remission was the multitarget therapy comprising tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and steroid, but infections were high in the multitarget therapy. Considering azathioprine as a potentially safer and effective alternative anti-B-cell therapy, modified multitarget therapy (MMTT) was planned replacing mycophenolate with azathioprine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A single-center, 24-week, open-label, randomized controlled trial comprising adults of age 18–65 years with biopsy-proven PLN was carried out. The intervention groups were 1) MMTT: tacrolimus 0.075 mg/kg/day and azathioprine 2 mg/kg/day and 2) IV CYC group with a starting dose of 0.75 (adjusted to 0.5–1.0) g/m(2) every 4 weeks for 6 months. Both groups received 3 days of pulse methylprednisolone followed by a tapering course of oral prednisone therapy. RESULTS: Among 100 randomized patients, 48 were in MMTT arm and 52 were in IV CYC arm. At the end of 24 weeks, overall remission (complete and partial) was comparable in both the arms: MMTT (86.36%) and IV CYC (87.75%). There was comparable proteinuria reduction and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) score improvement with recovery of complement level C3 in both groups. Major adverse events were numerically more in the IV CYC group, including one death from pneumonia. CONCLUSION: The MMTT arm is as effective as IV CYC in improving short-term outcome in PLN, with a comparable safety profile.