Lower incidence of chronic allograft nephropathy at 1 year post-transplantation in patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil

Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is the main cause of graft failure after the first year of transplantation. This prospective, centrally randomized, open-label study was conducted to examine the possibility that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can prevent the emergence of CAN. The incidence of biopsy-proven CAN at 1 year was compared between two cyclosporine-based regimens comprising either mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or azathioprine (AZA). The AZA group (n = 34) and the MMF group (n = 37) were balanced for all baseline characteristics of donors and recipients, the pre-existence of renal lesions on donor biopsy, the incidence of delayed graft function and acute rejection. Based on an intent-to-treat analysis, the number of patients with CAN at 1 year post-transplantation was significantly reduced in the MMF group (17/37-46%) compared with the AZA group (24/34-71%) (p = 0.03). When observed data were considered, 56/71 (78.8%) patients had a 1-year biopsy, and the number of patients with CAN was significantly lowered in the MMF group (9/29-31%) compared with the AZA group (17/27-63%) (p = 0.01). These results suggest a beneficial effect of MMF on the incidence of CAN at 1 year post-transplantation.