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. 2025 Mar;15(3):707-719.
doi: 10.1007/s13555-025-01356-8. Epub 2025 Feb 21.

PSO-TARGET: a New Tool to Identify the Therapeutic Expectations of Psoriasis Patients Treated with Biologics

Ziad Reguiai  1   2 , Pierre-Dominique Ghislain  3 , Pierre Moulin  4 , Emilie Baudier  5 , Corentin Schepkens  5 , Maxime Sintès  6 , Thierry Boyé  7
Affiliations

PSO-TARGET: a New Tool to Identify the Therapeutic Expectations of Psoriasis Patients Treated with Biologics

Ziad Reguiai et al. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: The effectiveness of psoriasis treatment is assessed by standardized tools such as the Dermatology life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI). However, discrepancies between patients and physicians in terms of treatment success and goals, along with the growing importance of shared decision-making in healthcare, highlight the need for tools specifically designed for psoriasis. Such tools can enhance communication between patients and physicians, encouraging shared decision-making and improving the assessment of patient treatment expectations.

Methods: Comparison of the new PSO-TARGET grid, which consists of 12 therapeutic goals evenly distributed across 4 major components commonly used in quality of life (QoL) studies for chronic diseases, with DLQI as a standard tool, was utilized.

Results: A total of 143 adult patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis and treated with brodalumab were included. On the basis of a blind assessment, dermatologists were not able to identify the patients' chosen PSO-TARGET goal in more than 50% of cases. The comparison after 12/16 weeks of treatment revealed some discrepancies between the two QoL tools. Compared with the rest of the population, the patients who achieved their PSO-TARGET goal, but still reported a DLQI > 1, had higher baseline PASI scores (18.6 versus 14.8; p = 0.067), higher DLQI scores (14.1 versus 10.1; p = 0.004), and a higher number of hard-to-treat locations (median of 2 versus 1; p = 0.004). In addition, patients who had not reached their PSO-TARGET goal but reported a DLQI ≤ 1, all had psoriasis on the scalp at the baseline and were generally younger (median of 31 versus 52 years, p = 0.001).

Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of considering patient characteristics of those with psoriasis and perspectives when evaluating treatment outcomes. Using shared decision-making tools such as the PSO-TARGET grid can improve communication and understanding between dermatologists and patients.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT04765332.

Keywords: Anti-IL17; Biologics; Brodalumab; PSO-TARGET; Psoriasis; Quality of life; Shared decision-making.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: Prof Dr Pierre-Dominique Ghislain: speaker and hospital investigator for AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, BMS, Eli Lilly, Flen, Galderma, Janssen, LEO Pharma, Maruho, Meda, Menarini, MSD, Novartis, PellePharm, Pfizer, Serono, UCB et Viatris. Dr Thierry Boyé: Personal fees and grant (clinical research) Novartis, LEO Pharma, Janssen, Abbvie, Amgen, Lilly, UCB. Dr Ziad Reguiai: Abbvie, Almirall, Amgen, Celltrion, Boerhinger-Ingelheim, Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Incyte, Janssen, LEO Pharma, Medac, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB. Prof Pierre Moulin: No conflict of interest. Emilie Baudier: Employee of LEO Pharma, Belgium. Corentin Schepkens: Corentin Schepkens who was affiliated to LEO Pharma NV/SA, Lier, Belgium at the time of study and publication is now affiliated to MSD, Belgium. He worked for LEO Pharma, Belgium during the statistical analysis and the drafting of the manuscript. Maxime Sintès: Employee of LEO Pharma, France. Ethical Approval: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee OUEST III on 13th of May 2020 in France, and the Ethics Committees of UC Louvain on 3rd of February 2021 in Belgium. All patients included in the study provided their signed, informed consent to participate.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scatter plot of PSO-TARGET goal satisfaction and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) value after 12/16 weeks of brodalumab treatment
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Sankey diagram representing the evolution of satisfaction with the achievement of the PSO-TARGET treatment goal from weeks 12/16 to week 52
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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