%0 Journal Article %A KATERINA LASKARI %A ATHANASIOS G. TZIOUFAS %A ANNA ANTONIOU %A HARALAMPOS M. MOUTSOPOULOS %T Longterm Followup After Tapering Mycophenolate Mofetil During Maintenance Treatment for Proliferative Lupus Nephritis %D 2011 %R 10.3899/jrheum.101249 %J The Journal of Rheumatology %P 1304-1308 %V 38 %N 7 %X Objective. To determine the timing for safe reduction of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) dose during remission-maintenance therapy of proliferative lupus nephritis. Methods. The study population consisted of 44 patients evaluated retrospectively; MMF dose was empirically tapered in 18/44 patients until the latest observation. Results. Patients reducing MMF ≤ 18 months after remission/complete remission had a 6.8-fold/6.3-fold higher risk of relapse compared to those taking a stable dose (p = 0.001, p = 0.011, respectively). Reducing MMF later than 18 months was not associated with increased relapse rates. Conclusion. Reducing MMF > 1.5 years after remission/complete remission seems to warrant drug tapering without increased risk of disease flare in proliferative lupus nephritis. %U https://www.jrheum.org/content/jrheum/38/7/1304.full.pdf