Efficacy and safety of everolimus in heart transplant recipients: A meta-analysis

Vitte SH, Luna AM, Pille JJ, Pinheiro BN, Souza MBL, Irudhayaraj CDJ, Munaretto GM · 2026 · JHLT Open · Atlas ID VITTE2026

What this study shows

Meta-analysis of 60 studies (1786 heart transplant recipients): everolimus-based immunosuppression reduced cardiac allograft vasculopathy progression on IVUS (RR ~0.57) and preserved renal function (eGFR +10-15 mL/min) when combined with calcineurin-inhibitor minimisation, with neutral all-cause mortality (RR ~0.98) but more adverse events and treatment discontinuation.

Abstract

ShowHide

Long-term outcomes after heart transplantation remain limited by cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-related nephrotoxicity. Everolimus has emerged as a CNI-sparing strategy, yet its net clinical benefit remains debated. To determine whether everolimus-based immunosuppression improves efficacy and safety compared with standard CNI-based therapy in heart transplant recipients. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and comparative observational studies enrolling adult and/or pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	S Synthesis of human data Marked S because it synthesizes multiple human studies (a systematic review or meta-analysis); the code names the kind of study, not the quality of any single included study.
Study type	1 - Systematic Review
Model system	Human (adult and paediatric heart transplant recipients)
Journal	JHLT Open
Year	2026
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100610 · PMID 42656203 · Free full text (PMC13506258)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Everolimus-based immunosuppression (with calcineurin-inhibitor minimisation or withdrawal) vs standard CNI-based therapy
Target	mTORC1 (everolimus)
Model	Human
Effect	Reduced cardiac allograft vasculopathy progression and better renal function; mortality neutral; more adverse events and discontinuations

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

ShowHide

Vitte, S. H., Luna, A. M., Pille, J. J., Pinheiro, B. N., Souza, M. B. L., Irudhayaraj, C. D. J., & Munaretto, G. M. (2026). Efficacy and safety of everolimus in heart transplant recipients: A meta-analysis. JHLT Open. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100610

@article{VITTE2026,
  author       = {Vitte, S. H. and Luna, A. M. and Pille, J. J. and Pinheiro, B. N. and Souza, M. B. L. and Irudhayaraj, C. D. J. and Munaretto, G. M.},
  title        = {{Efficacy and safety of everolimus in heart transplant recipients: A meta-analysis}},
  journal      = {JHLT Open},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100610},
  note         = {PMID: 42656203},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record VITTE2026) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/VITTE2026/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_VITTE2026,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record VITTE2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/VITTE2026/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

Was this page useful?