Background: Stavudine is a promising antiretroviral agent, but its clinical efficacy has not been determined.
Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of stavudine (2',3'-didehydro-3'-deoxythymidine) monotherapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Design: Randomized, controlled, double-blind trial.
Setting: 56 outpatient clinics in private practices, universities, and contract research organizations in the United States, France, and Italy.
Patients: 822 HIV-infected adults who had 50 to 500 CD4+ cells/mm3 and had previously received at least 6 months of zidovudine treatment.
Intervention: Monotherapy with peroral stavudine capsules or peroral zidovudine capsules.
Measurements: The primary end point was clinical progression, which was defined as all occurrences of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-defining events or death.
Results: Patients receiving stavudine reached clinical end points at a rate of 26 per 100 person-years, compared with 32 per 100 person-years for patients receiving zidovudine (relative risk, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.58 to 0.98]; P = 0.03). The risk for death alone was 26% lower in the stavudine group than in the zidovudine group, but the comparison was not statistically significant (relative risk, 0.74 [CI, 0.53 to 1.02]; P = 0.066). The benefit of stavudine therapy was seen in all CD4+ cell strata (< or = 100 cells/mm3, 101 to 300 cells/mm3, and > 300 cells/mm3) and clinical stages of HIV disease (asymptomatic, symptomatic, and AIDS). Four weeks after treatment began, CD4+ cell counts were 30 cells/mm3 higher in the stavudine group than in the zidovudine group; this difference was sustained for 96 weeks (P < 0.001). Nausea and vomiting were more common in patients receiving zidovudine (P < 0.01), and neuropathy occurred more frequently in those receiving stavudine (12% in the stavudine group compared with 4% in the zidovudine group; P < 0.001). Neuropathy resolved completely in many patients (63%) after interruption of stavudine treatment; these patients could resume stavudine therapy at a lower dose.
Conclusions: Stavudine was well tolerated and delayed progression of HIV disease in patients who had previously received 6 or more months of zidovudine treatment. Benefits were apparent in all CD4+ cell strata and clinical stages of HIV disease. Stavudine is an important agent to consider for trials of combination chemotherapy.