ArticleSarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG2025
Survival impact and safety comparison of pirfenidone and nintedanib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A meta-analysis.
Article in Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Isoforskolin inhibits LUBAC/GSDMD/IL-1β cascades in pulmonary fibrosis.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Article
- Comparison of the Efficacy of Pirfenidone and Nintedanib in the Treatment of Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis-A Single-Center Experience.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severe restrictive lung disease affecting approximately 3 million people worldwide with two approved antifibrotics, nintedanib and pirfenidone, available for use. This review aims to compare their survival impact and safety profile.
methodsTwo databases and two trial registers along with additional sources were searched for cohorts reporting IPF patients of any age or stage, receiving either pirfenidone or nintedanib. The Inverse-Variance and Mantel-Haenszel method along with either a fixed- or random-effects model was used for analysing survival and other dichotomous outcomes, respectively.
results23 cohorts were included. The pooled analysis showed that compared to pirfenidone, nintedanib group had similar survival (HR=1.12; 95%-CI:0.99-1.27; P=0.07), all-cause mortality (OR=1.11; 95%-CI:0.94-1.31; P=0.22), drug switches (OR=1.82; 95%-CI:0.69-4.78; P=0.22), and treatment discontinuations (OR=0.92; 95%-CI:0.60-1.41; P=0.70), higher odds of diarrhoea (OR=12.39; 95%-CI: 5.67-27.07; P<0.00001) and abnormal liver-function tests (OR=2.98; 95%-CI:1.92-4.61; P<0.00001), and lower odds of photosensitivity (OR=0.06; 95%-CI:0.01-0.25; P=0.0001), and skin-rash (OR=0.17; 95%-CI:0.08-0.34; P<0.00001).
conclusionsWhile both treatment groups had similar overall survival and all-cause mortality, the safety profiles of nintedanib and pirfenidone differed significantly, with nintedanib being associated with greater odds of liver toxicity and diarrhoea, and pirfenidone with photosensitivity and skin rash, suggesting they could be favoured in slightly distinct population groups. Further research is necessary to refine the current comprehension of these drugs and their optimal utilization in IPF treatment, particularly taking into account factors such as disease stage and sequential therapy.
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