Rituximab, tacrolimus most effective for induction remission in lupus nephritis

In a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab (RTX), tacrolimus (TAC), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and cyclophosphamide (CYC) as induction therapies in lupus nephritis (LN), RTX and TAC were found to be the most effective, with TAC having the lowest probability of infection and RTX demonstrating the highest probability of experiencing an infection.

Researchers examined 19 studies, including 1566 patients. There was no statistically significant differences found in partial remission (PR) and infection between the drugs included.

There was a significantly higher complete remission (CR) in patients treated with RTX compared with MMF. RTX also appeared to be more effective than CYC. There was a better CR in patients treated with MMF compared to CYC. There was a better overall response with TAC compared with CYC.

Reference
Li K, Yu Y, Gao Y, et al. Comparative Effectiveness of Rituximab and Common Induction Therapies for Lupus Nephritis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Front Immunol. 2022 Apr 4;13:859380. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.859380. PMID: 35444666; PMCID: PMC9013779.