The RENAL LIFECYCLE Trial: A RCT to Assess the Effect of Dapagliflozin on Renal and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Severe CKD
Summary
Rationale: Sodium glucose co transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a relatively new class of agents, originally developed as oral antihyperglycemic drugs. SGLT2 inhibitors are clinically available since 2012 for the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. Later, SGLT2 inhibitors appeared to have also specific reno- and cardioprotective effects. Remarkably, the trials that have been performed thus far excluded patients with an eGFR below 25 mL/min/1.73m2 at inclusion, prevalent dialysis patients, and kidney transplant recipients. This is unfortunate, because especially these patients are at high risk of reaching kidney failure requiring dialysis, cardiovascular complications and mortality, whereas there are only few proven effective therapies. There is emerging evidence from experimental studies and post hoc-analyses of randomized clinical trials that SGLT2 inhibitors may also be effective in preventing cardiovascular and mortality outcomes in these patients with severe CKD, including patients receiving dialysis or living with a kidney transplant. For instance, subgroup analysis of the DAPA-CKD trial comparing 624 patients with an eGFR\<30 to the remainder of the trial population with better kidney function, demonstrated that the efficacy of the SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin in reducing cardiovascular, heart failure and renal outcomes persisted in the population with impaired kidney function. Furthermore, in the DAPA-CKD trial patients continued to use dapagliflozin or placebo when dialysis was initiated. In the subgroup of patients who initiated dialysis, dapagliflozin was associated with a relative risk reduction for mortality of 21%. Finally, in kidney transplant recipients, SGLT2 inhibitors have been shown to be effective in lowering HbA1c, body weight, blood pressure and stabilize kidney function, and these agents were well tolerated and safe. Taken these findings together there is a sound rationale to study the long-term reno- and cardioprotective efficacy and safety of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with severe CKD. There are two cardiac sub-studies: the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sub-study and the echocardiography sub-study. The echocardiography sub-study is referred to as the "SGLT-2-inhibitors to Target Heart Failure in Peritoneal Dialysis" (STOP-HF-in-PD) study.
Timeline
- Start
- 2022-11-08
- Primary completion
- 2027-07
- Completion
- 2027-07
Publications
- Background Bakker WM, Heerspink HJL, Berger SP, Wanner C, Badve SV, Arnott C, Abrahams AC, van den Born JC, van Faassen TC, Gaillard CAJM, Gelens MACJ, Gorris JL, Hemmelder MH, Jakulj L, van Kruijsdijk RCM, Kuypers DRJ, van der Meer P, van der Net JB, Nijmeijer HH, Vervloet MG, de Vries APJ, Walsh M, Wang AY, Gansevoort RT; Renal Lifecycle Trial Investigators. Rationale and design of the Renal Lifecycle trial assessing the effect of dapagliflozin on cardiorenal outcomes in severe chronic kidney disease. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2025 Aug 29;40(9):1746-1755. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfaf046.
- Background Perkovic V, Jardine MJ, Neal B, Bompoint S, Heerspink HJL, Charytan DM, Edwards R, Agarwal R, Bakris G, Bull S, Cannon CP, Capuano G, Chu PL, de Zeeuw D, Greene T, Levin A, Pollock C, Wheeler DC, Yavin Y, Zhang H, Zinman B, Meininger G, Brenner BM, Mahaffey KW; CREDENCE Trial Investigators. Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy. N Engl J Med. 2019 Jun 13;380(24):2295-2306. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1811744. Epub 2019 Apr 14.
- Background Heerspink HJL, Jongs N, Chertow GM, Langkilde AM, McMurray JJV, Correa-Rotter R, Rossing P, Sjostrom CD, Stefansson BV, Toto RD, Wheeler DC, Greene T; DAPA-CKD Trial Committees and Investigators. Effect of dapagliflozin on the rate of decline in kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes: a prespecified analysis from the DAPA-CKD trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021 Nov;9(11):743-754. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00242-4. Epub 2021 Oct 4.
- Background Chertow GM, Vart P, Jongs N, Toto RD, Gorriz JL, Hou FF, McMurray JJV, Correa-Rotter R, Rossing P, Sjostrom CD, Stefansson BV, Langkilde AM, Wheeler DC, Heerspink HJL; DAPA-CKD Trial Committees and Investigators. Effects of Dapagliflozin in Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021 Sep;32(9):2352-2361. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2021020167. Epub 2021 Jul 16.
- Background Chewcharat A, Prasitlumkum N, Thongprayoon C, Bathini T, Medaura J, Vallabhajosyula S, Cheungpasitporn W. Efficacy and Safety of SGLT-2 Inhibitors for Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus among Kidney Transplant Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Med Sci (Basel). 2020 Nov 17;8(4):47. doi: 10.3390/medsci8040047.
- Karsten M, Badve SV, Gansevoort RT, Berger SP, Heerspink HJL, Abrahams AC, Billot L, Bon RHACM, Gelens MACJ, Guinness D, Hamilton-Craig C, van Heerebeek L, Hemmelder MH, Houston L, Kozor R, Kuypers DRJ, Monaghan H, Neal B, Neuen BL, Otton J, Perkovic V, Rajwani A, Wang AY, Vervloet MG, Arnott C, Jakulj L; Renal Lifecycle Trial Cardiac Imaging Sub-studies Investigators. Cardiac impact of dapagliflozin in advanced chronic kidney disease: rationale and design of the Renal Lifecycle Trial cardiac imaging sub-studies. Clin Kidney J. 2025 Dec 2;19(1):sfaf376. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfaf376. eCollection 2026 Jan.
- Garcia-Cosio Carmena MD, Farrero M, Blasco Peiro MT, Crespo M, Delgado Jimenez J, Diaz Molina B, Fernandez Rivera C, Garrido Bravo IP, Lopez Jimenez V, Melilli E, Mirabet Perez S, Perez Tamajon ML, Rangel Sousa D, Rodrigo E, Cruzado JM, Hernandez Marrero D; Spanish Society of Transplantation, the Spanish Society of Nephrology, and the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SET-SEC-SEN). Management of Kidney Disease in Heart Transplant Patients: A National Delphi Survey-based Consensus Expert Paper. Transplantation. 2025 Sep 1;109(9):e431-e445. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000005302. Epub 2025 Feb 7.
- Gill M, Leung M, Luo CY, Cheung C, Beauchesne A, Chang D, Lan J, Johnston O. Erythrocytosis and thrombotic events in kidney transplant recipients prescribed a sodium glucose cotransport-2 inhibitor. Clin Transplant. 2023 Aug;37(8):e15013. doi: 10.1111/ctr.15013. Epub 2023 May 11.
Drugs
| Evaluation | Drug | Modality | Dose | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Dapagliflozin | Small molecule | 10 mg | Oral |