Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32851366›Full record

ArticleArchives of rheumatology2020

Efficacy of Combination Therapy With Pirfenidone and Low-Dose Cyclophosphamide for Refractory Interstitial Lung Disease Associated With Connective Tissue Disease: A Case-Series of Seven Patients.

Lichong Shen, Qingran Yan, Xiaoxiang Chen

Registry-linked trialOpen access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of rheumatology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05799755 (Nintedanib Plus Standard of Care Immunosuppression Versus Standard of Care Immunosuppression Alone in Patients With Progressive Fibrotic Myositis Associated - Interstitial Lung Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 100% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05799755 phase4completednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Nintedanib Plus Standard of Care Immunosuppression Versus Standard of Care Immunosuppression Alone in Patients With Progressive Fibrotic Myositis Associated - Interstitial Lung Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Exploratory Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorRohit Aggarwal, MDRan2023 to 2025Enrolled49ConditionsMyositis Associated Interstitial Lund Disease (MA-ILD)ArmsNintedanib, Placebo, Standard of Care
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Combination antifibrotic and immunosuppressive therapy in progressive fibrosing ILD.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lichong ShenDepartment of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai China.ORCID 0000-0001-5046-3693
Qingran YanDepartment of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai China.ORCID 0000-0002-2781-5280
Xiaoxiang ChenDepartment of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai China.ORCID 0000-0001-9411-0275
Renji Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study reports a low dose combination therapy of cyclophosphamide (CYC) and pirfenidone (PFD) and the efficiency and safety of the therapy in refractory connective tissue disease associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) patients. PATIENTS AND

methodsThe study included seven CTD-ILD patients (2 males, 5 females; mean age 48.8 years; range, 32 to 63 years) treated between January 2016 and December 2017 in our clinic. At enrolment, all patients had shown no improvement in their symptoms (dyspnea or cough) after at least one month of high dose steroids treatment. Patients who had received adjusted immunosuppressive agents other than steroids or anti-fibrotic medications within the three months before enrolment were excluded. We changed the treatment to a low dose combination of CYC 0.4 g/m2 monthly and PFD 300 mg twice per day and quickly reduced the steroids. All the patients were followed-up for 12 months.

resultsTwo patients had anti-synthetase syndrome, two had Sjögren syndrome, two had scleroderma and one had mixed connective tissue disease. The baseline forced vital capacity (FVC) was 39-81% and the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) was 202 m-324 m. Within 12 months follow-up, the median improvement in the FVC was 13.4% (range, 0-35.9%), the median improvement of carbon monoxide diffusing capacity was 6.3% (range, 1.7-16%) and the median improvement of 6MWD was 52.7% (range, 34.4-86.3%). All the patients were self-sufficient, and their dyspnea, chest high- resolution computed tomography scores, and quality of life improved simultaneously. Exceeding our expectations, no adverse events associated with CYC or PFD were observed during the follow-up period.

conclusionOur study provided preliminary while promising clinical evidence for combination therapy of CYC-PFD for CTD-ILD. A low dose combination of CYC and PFD was unexpectedly well tolerated, with satisfactory effects in refractory CTD-ILD patients. Well-designed controlled studies are needed to further establish the safety and efficacy of this approach.

Indexed as

Cyclophosphamideinterstitial lung diseasepirfenidone

Identifiers

PMID32851366
PMCPMC7406158
OpenAlexW2975884159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.