Effectiveness of biologic therapies in children with palmoplantar plaque psoriasis: An analysis of real-life data from the BiPe cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Palmoplantar plaque psoriasis is a frequent clinical subtype of childhood psoriasis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of biologic therapies in children with palmoplantar plaque psoriasis using data from the two Biological treatments for Pediatric Psoriasis (BiPe) cohorts. METHODS: Data for all 170 patients included in the BiPe cohorts were analyzed. Data on the effectiveness (PGA, PASI between baseline and 3 months of treatment) of biologic therapies were then compared between children with palmoplantar plaque psoriasis (n = 20) and those with generalized plaque psoriasis (n = 136). Clinical and demographic data were also analyzed. RESULTS: Children in the palmoplantar group were more likely to be male (p = .04), with an earlier age of psoriasis onset (p < .001), and more frequent nail involvement (p < .001). After 3 months of biologic treatment, mean PGA scores were higher in the palmoplantar group than in the generalized plaque psoriasis group (p = .004). In the palmoplantar group, continuation rates were higher for adalimumab than for etanercept or ustekinumab (p = .01). Primary inefficacy was a more frequent reason for stopping biologic therapies in the palmoplantar group (p = .01), and disease remission was less frequent (p = .05). Combined systemic and biologic therapies were more frequently used in palmoplantar plaque psoriasis (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the treatment-resistant nature of palmoplantar plaque psoriasis and indicated that adalimumab could be the most effective biologic treatment. Larger studies are needed to allow therapeutic algorithms for palmoplantar plaque psoriasis to be proposed in pediatric psoriasis management guidelines.

Evaluation of Children with Psoriasis from the BiPe Cohort: Are Patients Using Biotherapies in Real Life Eligible for Phase III Clinical Studies?

BACKGROUND: Phase III clinical trials of biotherapies for childhood psoriasis are designed for a selected population, which can differ from real-life patients. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the proportion of children with psoriasis that received biotherapy in the biological treatments for pediatric psoriasis (BiPe) cohort that would be excluded from phase III clinical trials of these treatments. METHODS: Data concerning initiation of the first biotherapy from all patients included in the BiPe cohort were analyzed. Ineligibility was assessed after applying the exclusion criteria used in the principal phase III trials of etanercept, adalimumab, and ustekinumab for childhood psoriasis. RESULTS: Of the 134 patients included, 73 (54.5%) were ineligible for at least one randomized controlled trial based on one or more exclusion criteria. Amongst the 63 children treated with etanercept, 35 (55.5%) were ineligible: 22 because of the type of psoriasis, 12 because of concomitant treatment, and six because of psoriasis severity based on psoriasis assessment severity index (PASI) and physician global assessment (PGA) scores (PASI < 12 and PGA < 3). Amongst the 44 children treated with adalimumab, 32 (72.7%) were ineligible: 17 because of the clinical type of psoriasis, 12 because of psoriasis severity (PASI < 20 and PGA < 4), and seven because of concomitant treatment. Amongst the 27 children patients treated with ustekinumab, 12 (44.4%) were ineligible: eight because of psoriasis severity (PASI < 12 and PGA < 3), five because of the clinical type of psoriasis, and one because of concomitant treatment. Drug survival and the frequency of serious adverse events did not differ between eligible and ineligible patients. CONCLUSION: The majority of children treated with biotherapies in real-life practice differ from those in phase III trials, most commonly because of the clinical type of their psoriasis, the disease severity being lower than required and the use of prior or concomitant psoriasis treatment. Efficacy and safety results from phase III clinical trials in selected populations may not sufficiently reflect what is seen in real life, thus results from real-life cohort studies are necessary.

A new phototherapy regimen during winter as an add-on therapy, coupled with oral vitamin D supplementation, for the long-term control of atopic dermatitis: study protocol for a multicentre, randomized, crossover, pragmatic trial - the PRADA trial.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a highly prevalent, chronic, relapsing disease in both adults and children. On the severity spectrum, lower-end patients benefit from small amounts of topical anti-inflammatory treatments (TAT), whereas higher-end patients need systemic immunosuppressants; in-between patients are treated with TAT and phototherapy. The major therapeutic challenge in this population is the long-term control of disease activity, and the current TAT-based pro-active strategy does not meet all their needs. Immunosuppressants are used as long-term control add-on treatments, but they are restricted to the most severely affected patients because of safety concerns. In addition, neither immunosuppressants nor other strategies have been properly evaluated in the long term despite long-term control having been acknowledged as one of the most important core outcome domains to be targeted in atopic dermatitis trials. Safe add-on therapies, rigorously evaluated for long-term control of the disease, are therefore needed. Phototherapy and vitamin D supplementation are both good candidates. METHODS: This is a multicenter, national, randomized, superiority, crossover trial testing add-on phototherapy (one winter under spaced sessions of phototherapy and one winter under observation) among subjects receiving standard care (i.e., TAT). On the same population, we will test the long-term control provided by oral supplementation of vitamin D versus placebo in a randomized, superiority, double-blind, parallel-group trial. The primary outcomes are (1) repeat measures of the PO-SCORAD severity score over 1 year and (2) cumulate consumption of TAT (number of tubes) during the winter. They will be tested following a hierarchical testing procedure. The secondary outcomes will be measures repeated over 2 years of investigator-based severity scores, patient-reported severity and quality of life scores, serum vitamin D levels, weeks during which the disease is well-controlled, inter-visit cumulate consumption of TAT, and synthetic patient-reported satisfaction at the end of each winter. DISCUSSION: This study includes two separate 2-year pragmatic trials designed to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation and pro-active phototherapy for primary care atopic dermatitis patients receiving TAT on long-term control of disease activity. The experimental design enables the study of both interventions and exploration of the interaction between vitamin D and phototherapy. A pragmatic trial is particularly suited to the assessment of long-term control. This study explores the possibility of new and safe therapeutic strategies for the control of long-term atopic dermatitis, and is an example of efficacy research that is unlikely to be sponsored by industrialists. A potentially effective low-cost therapeutic strategy for long-term control is essential for patients and public health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02537509 , first received: 1 September 2015.