Efficacy and safety of adalimumab after failure of other anti-TNFα agents for plaque-type psoriasis: clinician behavior in real life clinical practice

Effectiveness of sequential lines of biologic and targeted small molecule drugs in psoriasis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

To assess current evidence of effectiveness of sequential lines of biologic and targeted small molecule drugs for psoriasis beyond first line. A systematic search of the literature (Medline, Embase and bibliographic) was undertaken in October and December 2022 to find all studies assessing effectiveness of biologics and targeted small molecules when used beyond first-line in adults with psoriasis (PROSPERO CRD42022365298). Data extraction and a bias assessment (Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions/Cochrane RoB2) were undertaken for all included studies. A random effects proportional meta-analysis was undertaken for PASI75/90/100 at 12-16 weeks for each line of treatment (1st to 4th). Of 2666 abstracts identified, a full text review was undertaken of 177 studies; 20 manuscripts met eligibility criteria. Twenty studies were included in the analysis: 19 observational studies and one sub analysis of a RCT; n = 6495 (average age 49.7 years, female 35.1%). Eleven studies assessed second line biologic, nine assessed third + line. A meta-analysis of PASI75 at 12-16 weeks found pooled effect percentage achieving PASI75 of 61%, 56%, 79% and 61% in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th line biologics respectively. Meta-analyses of PASI90/100 also found no evidence of diminished effectiveness with sequential lines (PASI90 46.1%, 39.9%, 55.8% and 33.7% and PASI100 36.7%, 30.3%, 46.7% and 30.4% in 1st to 4th line respectively). Available evidence for effectiveness of biologics beyond first line in psoriasis is predominantly observational, at high risk of bias and of low quality. There is very limited data for effectiveness beyond second line. Evidence indicates that biologics can be effective to fourth-line.

Dose Adjustment of Biologic Treatments for Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis in the Real World: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

Dose escalation and reduction of biologic treatments are frequent in clinical practice. The aim of this systematic review is to summarise evidence on dose adjustment of biologic treatments for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in the real-world.

METHODS

A systematic review of real-world evidence on dose adjustment of biologics for plaque psoriasis was performed. Searches were conducted in BIOSIS Previews^®, Embase^®, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE^®, and SciSearch^® in March 2020. Real-world studies that reported biologic dose adjustment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis were included.

RESULTS

The search identified 162 papers, and 20 studies with 30,912 patients were included from 2014 to 2020. More studies reported on dose escalation than dose reduction. For adalimumab, 3-54% of patients had dose reduction while 0-37% had dose escalation. For infliximab, only two studies reported a dose reduction, with rates of 22-29%, while dose escalation rates varied from 14 to 67%. Dose reduction rates of 5-49% were reported for etanercept while 0-55% of patients had doses escalated. For ustekinumab, dose escalation and reduction rates ranged from 3 to 37% and 7 to 42%, respectively. Two studies reported on dose adjustment for secukinumab; in one 52% of patients initiated on 150 mg instead of the recommended 300 mg, while another reported no dose increase.

CONCLUSIONS

Dose adjustment of biologics for psoriasis is common, with escalation more frequently reported than reduction. Dose escalation may have economic and safety consequences, while dose reduction may impact efficacy. These aspects are important to consider when making decisions on treatment dosing.

Omalizumab and adalimumab: a winning couple

Introduction: We report a case of a young female patient, previously affected by psoriatic arthritis, and treated with adalimumab, who developed a chronic spontaneous urticaria and started a concomitant therapy with omalizumab. Methods & results: A 50% reduction of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (from 7 at baseline to 4 in weeks 12 and 24) and a complete reset of the Urticaria Activity Score for 7 days (from 27 at baseline to 0 in weeks 12 and 24) were recorded. During all treatment with omalizumab, administering of adalimumab was continued. Due to complete control of urticaria symptoms, the patient stopped treatment with omalizumab after 24 weeks. Conclusion: The combination of adalimumab and omalizumab could offer a favorable efficacy and safety profile. The synergistic action of the two biological drugs in reducing systemic inflammation could be responsible for a shorter time to obtain clinical response.

Myxoid liposarcoma associated with adalimumab treatment: A case report

Biological agents that suppress inflammation, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α) inhibitors, are being successfully used at an increasing frequency for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis. However, these drugs are not free of side effects, and although the general rates of malignancy in patients using anti-TNF-α therapies are not high, certain tumours of cutaneous origin, particularly carcinomas, have been reported. We herein present the case of a 47-year-old female patient with moderate-to-severe psoriasis for 20 years under treatment with adalimumab administered at the standard dose of 40 mg, injected subcutaneously each fortnight, with good efficacy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a low-grade (grade 1) myxoid liposarcoma in a patient receiving treatment with adalimumab since 2009. A review of the relevant literature was also conducted. Continuous investigation of such cases is crucial in order to elucidate the iatrogenic risk of rare cancers, such as myxoid liposarcoma, in patients undergoing treatment with currently available as well as future biological therapies.