Long-term effectiveness of dual CFTR modulator treatment of cystic fibrosis

Although short-term efficacy of lumacaftor/ivacaftor and tezacaftor/ivacaftor is clearly established in clinical trials, data on long-term effectiveness is limited. This registry-based cohort study assessed real-world longitudinal outcomes of F508del-homozygous people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) ≥12 years, up to 3 years after the introduction of dual cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators.

Annual data (2010-2019) were retrieved from the Dutch Cystic Fibrosis Registry. Longitudinal trends of per cent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁ % pred) decline, body mass index (BMI), BMI Z-score and intravenous antibiotic treatment duration before and after CFTR modulator initiation were assessed with linear and negative binomial mixed models.

We included 401 participants (41.9% female, baseline age 24.5 years (IQR 18.0-31.5 years), baseline mean±sd FEV₁ 70.5±23.4% pred). FEV₁ decline improved from -1.36% pred per year to -0.48% pred per year after modulator initiation (change: 0.88% pred, 95% CI: 0.35-1.39%, p=0.001). This change was even 1.40% pred per year (95% CI: -0.0001-2.82%, p=0.050) higher in participants with baseline FEV₁ <40% pred. In adults, annual BMI trend was not altered (change: 0.10 kg·m^-2·year^-1, 95% CI:-0.01-0.21, p=0.079). Annual BMI Z-score in children reversed from -0.08 per year before modulator treatment to 0.06 per year afterwards (change: 0.14 per year, 95% CI: 0.06-0.22, p<0.001). Intravenous antibiotic treatment duration showed a three-fold reduction in the first year after modulator initiation (incidence rate ratios (IRR): 0.28, 95% CI: 0.19-0.40, p<0.001), but the annual trend did not change in the subsequent years (IRR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.94-1.50, p=0.153).

Long-term effectiveness of dual CFTR modulator therapies on FEV₁ decline, BMI and intravenous antibiotic treatment duration is less pronounced in a real-world setting than in clinical trials and varies considerably between pwCF and different baseline FEV₁ levels.