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Multicenter Study
. 2024 Jun;51(6):839-843.
doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.17115. Epub 2024 Jan 31.

Effectiveness of ixekizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis with involvement of difficult-to-treat areas: A 52-week multicenter retrospective study

Mario Valenti  1   2 , Luigi Gargiulo  1   2 , Luciano Ibba  1   2 , Andrea Cortese  1   2 , Francesco Toso  1   2 , Diego Orsini  3 , Viviana Lora  3 , Pasquale Frascione  4 , Paolo Sena  5 , Andrea Carugno  5   6 , Chiara Assorgi  7 , Antonio Costanzo  1   2 , Alessandra Narcisi  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Effectiveness of ixekizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis with involvement of difficult-to-treat areas: A 52-week multicenter retrospective study

Mario Valenti et al. J Dermatol. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Biological drugs have dramatically changed the approach to treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, achieving excellent skin clearance and safety outcomes. However, the management of difficult-to-treat areas (e.g., scalp, palms/soles, nails, and genitalia) still represents a challenge in psoriasis treatment. Data in the literature on difficult-to-treat sites are limited and, frequently, no specific analysis is performed during clinical trials. We conducted a 52-week, retrospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of ixekizumab in 120 patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis of at least one difficult-to-treat area (scalp, palmoplantar surfaces, nails, and genitalia). Ninety-nine patients had scalp psoriasis, 35 had involvement of the palms or soles, 27 were affected by genital psoriasis, and 22 patients reported involvement of the nails. After 1 year of treatment, 96% of patients with scalp involvement, 95.6% of patients with palmoplantar psoriasis, 95.2% of patients with genital psoriasis, and 85% of patients with nail involvement achieved a site-specific Physician's Global Assessment of 0 or 1 (clear or almost clear). No serious adverse events were observed during the study. Our study supports the effectiveness of ixekizumab in plaque psoriasis involving difficult-to-treat sites.

Keywords: biologics; ixekizumab; psoriasis; psoriasis treatment; real‐world.

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Conflict of interest statement

Mario Valenti has been a consultant and/or speaker for Sanofi, Leo Pharma, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Janssen, AbbVie, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Luigi Gargiulo has been a consultant for Almirall. Antonio Costanzo has served as an advisory board member, consultant, and has received fees and speaker's honoraria or has participated in clinical trials for Abbvie, Almirall, Biogen, LEO Pharma, Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi Genzyme, and UCB‐Pharma. Alessandra Narcisi has served on advisory boards, received honoraria for lectures and research grants from Almirall, Abbvie, Leo Pharma, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Sanofi‐Genzyme, Amgen and Boehringer Ingelheim. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Percentages of patients achieving a site‐specific Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) score of 0/1 (clear or almost clear) throughout the study period regarding involvement of (a) the scalp (sc‐PGA), (b) palmar and/or plantar regions (pp‐PGA), (c) genitalia (s‐PGA‐g), and (d) fingernails.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Reduction of mean (standard deviation) site‐specific Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) during 52 weeks concerning each difficult‐to‐treat area. (a) scalp (sc‐PGA), (b) palmar and/or plantar regions (pp‐PGA), (c) genitalia (s‐PGA‐g), and (d) fingernails (fn‐PGA).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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