Phase 3 trials have shown that nintedanib reduces the decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) in patients with mild-to-moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with acceptable safety profiles; however, its effects on advanced IPF are unclear. We investigated the efficacy and safety of nintedanib in patients with advanced IPF.

Prospective data were obtained from 108 IPF patients administered at least one dose of nintedanib. Of these patients, 47.2% had advanced IPF (FVC < 50% predicted, or diffusing capacity < 30% predicted).

The median treatment duration was 42.2 weeks. Nintedanib significantly reduced the decline rate in both FVC (− 0.55% [before] vs. -0.32% [after] predicted/month, p = 0.020) and total lung capacity (TLC) (− 0.35% vs. -0.06% predicted/month, p < 0.001) in all patients. A significant improvement in FVC decline rate after treatment was also observed in the advanced group (− 0.77% vs. -0.22% predicted/month, p = 0.003), but not in the non-advanced group (− 0.41% vs. -0.33% predicted/month, p = 0.564). Adverse events occurred in 97.2% of the cohort, including diarrhoea (50.0%) and anorexia (45.4%). Following adjustment for treatment duration, no inter-group difference in odds ratio was observed for the occurrence of adverse events. However, the advanced group showed a higher frequency of treatment interruption (68.0% vs. 40.0%), mainly as a result of disease progression (47.1% vs. 36.4%).

The efficacy and safety profiles of nintedanib in the advanced group were comparable to those in the non-advanced group except for a higher frequency of discontinuation, which may be due to the advanced status itself.