Risankizumab: A pilot study of short-term effectiveness and safety in real clinical practice

Risankizumab for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis: Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life and Psychological Wellbeing

Biologic treatments are increasingly being used in the management of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PSO). Risankizumab (RZB) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that specifically blocks the p19 subunit of interleukin 23, which in turn regulates the activation, differentiation, and survival of Th17. RZB has proved their efficacy and their safety compared to anti-TNF. However, studies that assess and compare the improvement in other secondary PROs such as the patient's quality of life are still scarce. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is the sum of physical health, well-being, and participation; it defines the functional effect of a disease or its treatment and how it is perceived by the patient. The objective of this paper is to analyze the literature on the impact of treatment with RZB on the quality of life of patients with PSO and their psychological well-being. A bibliographic search was carried out to identify all the papers published from July 2015 to June 1, 2022, on RZB treatment in psoriasis and its impact on health-related quality of life and psychological well-being, finally twenty articles have been evaluated in full text, of which 8 were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria. Risankizumab has shown not only to have very relevant data on effectiveness and safety, but all of this is associated with an improvement in quality of life related to health and psychological well-being measured on generic and specific quality of life scales, both in pivotal trials, ad hoc analysis, and data in real clinical practice.

Risankizumab: Efficacy, Safety, and Survival in the Mid-Term (52 Weeks) in Real Clinical Practice in Andalusia, Spain, According to the Therapeutic Goals of the Spanish Psoriatic Guidelines

Introduction. Risankizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) type that binds selectively, and with high affinity, to the p19 subunit of interleukin-23 (IL-23), resulting in the inhibition of inflammation and clinical symptoms associated with psoriasis. Its introduction has managed to increase the levels of efficacy and safety (improving upon those previously presented by the anti-IL-23 class). Material and methods. Retrospective analysis of a multicenter, observational study of real clinical practice, including patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in treatment with risankizumab. This cross-sectional analysis includes information on patients from May 2020 to June 2022. A total of six tertiary hospitals in Andalusia (Spain) participated in this study. Analyses were performed “as observed” using GraphPad Prism version 8.3.0 for Windows. Results. Regarding the percentage of patients who reached PASI 90 or PASI 100 at week 52, 92.5% achieved the therapeutic goal of PASI 90, and 78.5% reached PASI 100. When analyzing the results by absolute PASI, we found that 78.5% (n = 33) obtained PASI 0, 85.7% (n = 36) obtained PASI ≤ 1, and all patients achieved PASI ≤ 3 (disease control). Discussion. Risankizumab has shown promising results in the control of psoriasis in the long-term, with a high percentage of patients (>80%) maintaining PASI 90 and PASI 100 up to 52 weeks of treatment. No abnormal safety findings have been reported, and risankizumab appears to be a solid treatment in the different scenarios analyzed.