Real-world patients with psoriasis demonstrated significant improvement in difficult-to-treat scalp, nail, palmoplantar, and genital disease manifestations with the IL-23 inhibitor tildrakizumab.
Tildrakizumab was associated with significant improvement in difficult-to-treat areas of psoriasis among real-world patients, according to study findings published recently in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
Associated with a considerable impact on patient psychological well-being and quality of life, psoriasis morbidity is further exacerbated when located in sensitive and difficult-to-treat areas, such as the face, scalp, palms and soles (palmoplantar), nails, and genital region.
“Since patients with psoriasis in difficult-to-treat locations often receive inadequate treatment, the burden of the disease is often worse than patients not affected by these types of lesions. In general, topical treatments are not usually effective necessitating alternative treatment strategies,” explained the study authors.
Substantial improvements in the management of moderate to severe psoriasis with biological therapies have also demonstrated effectiveness in some difficult-to-treat areas, but data remain limited.
“Although there is accumulating evidence of the effectiveness of tildrakizumab in randomized controlled trials and more recently in real-life studies, little evidence is currently available on the use of this biologic in patients burdened with psoriasis in difficult-to-treat areas,” they added.
Researchers conducted a 28-week retrospective cohort analysis of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with tildrakizumab (Ilumya), a monoclonal antibody targeting the p19 subunit of interleukin (IL)-23, at the Dermatology Unit, “Tor Vergata” University of Rome, Italy.
A total of 18 patients (mean [SD] age, 49.1 [12.7] years; mean [SD] disease duration, 14.3 [11.9] years; 61.1% male) with psoriasis localized in the genital region (n = 7), scalp (n = 6), nails (n = 5), and palmoplantar areas (n = 7) were assessed at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 28.
Safety and efficacy outcomes evaluated at each time point included the psoriasis area severity index (PASI), static Physician’s Global Assessment of Genitalia (sPGA-G), Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index (PSSI), Nail Area Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI), and the Palmoplantar Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (ppPASI).
Findings showed significant decreases in PASI of 73% and 79.1% at weeks 12 and 28, respectively, compared with baseline (mean PASI, 3.1 and 2.4 vs 11.5). Further improvements were observed with tildrakizumab in difficult-to-treat areas:
Researchers concluded that further long-term studies with a greater sample size are warranted to verify these preliminary findings.
Reference
Galluzzo M, Talamonti M, Cioni A, et al. Efficacy of tildrakizumab for the treatment of difficult-to-treat areas: scalp, nail, palmoplantar and genital psoriasis. J Clin Med. 2022;11(9):2631. doi:10.3390/jcm11092631
Study Highlights Significant Increases in Utilization, Spending on DMD Drugs in Medicaid
May 17th 2024The findings add to recent research on the growing utilization, expenditure, and prices of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) therapies in the current landscape, an area health care policy could potentially address.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Perioperative Nivolumab Boosts NSCLC Survival: CheckMate 77T Trial
May 16th 2024This interim analysis of the CheckMate 77T trial, outcomes were compared between adult patients receiving neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus placebo for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Read More