The STARMEN trial: rethinking calcineurin inhibitor therapy in membranous nephropathy.

Floege, Jürgen; Rovin, Brad H · Kidney Int · 2021

other · Level V

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Abstract

The STARMEN trial postulated that in primary membranous nephropathy (pMN) treatment with tacrolimus plus rituximab would be superior to a traditional Ponticelli regimen of alternating cyclophosphamide and glucocorticoids. This was not the case. Significantly more remissions were achieved in cyclophosphamide-treated patients, and more of these were complete remissions. Considering these results with those of the Mentor trial, which compared rituximab with cyclosporine in pMN, we offer an evidence-based perspective on the role of calcineurin inhibition for pMN treatment.

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