Wegener's granulomatosis. Long-term followup of patients treated with cyclophosphamide

Abstract

Ten patients with Wegener's granulomatosis were treated with cyclophosphamide and followed for periods up to 7 years. In all cases cyclophosphamide induced complete remissions. The mean duration of remission (to date) was 38 months. Six patients have been in remission for a mean of 46 months after cyclophosphamide was discontinued; 2 have been disease-free for 7 years. Of the 10 patients treated, only 1 relapsed and she responded to a second course of cyclophosphamide. These results indicate that cyclophosphamide is the drug of choice in Wegener's granulomatosis. The long-term effectiveness of this drug suggests that it may induce permanent remissions in certain patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.