The adoption of nintedanib in systemic sclerosis: the SENSCIS study

Abstract

We live in an era of respiratory medicine in which there is increasing awareness of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). This is probably due to the publication of evidence-based guidelines [1, 2] and the discovery of newer drugs [3, 4]. These advances are particularly evident for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which is to date the only fibrotic disease with specific pharmacologic-approved treatments. The burgeoning interest in pulmonary fibrosis has recently shifted its focus to the possibility of using therapeutic interventions available for IPF on other non-IPF ILDs, including pulmonary fibrosis secondary to systemic sclerosis (SSc). ILD represents one of the most relevant complications of SSc [5], but a standard treatment has yet to be achieved. Currently, the therapeutic management of SSc-ILD includes a “wait and see” approach in patients with a slow functional decay, and an immunosuppressive strategy (cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate) in patients with progressive ILD [6]. The Safety and Efficacy of Nintedanib in Systemic Sclerosis (SENSCIS) trial[7] explored the use of nintedanib, an intracellular inhibitor of tyrosine kinases currently approved for IPF, in scleroderma patients.

Abstract

Nintedanib shows a statistically significant effect on lung function decay in patients with ILD secondary to systemic sclerosis, but no effect on skin fibrosis and on health-related quality of life http://bit.ly/2vfJRj7