Secukinumab treatment provides fast relief from patient-reported psoriasis burden

Introduction and objectives: Secukinumab, an antiinterleukin-17A antibody, was evaluated in two phase 3 clinical studies for efficacy and safety in subjects with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. This analysis focused on the impact of skin clearance at week 12, on speed of response to two patient reported outcome (PRO) measures – the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the visual analog scale (VAS) from the EuroQoL 5-Dimension Health Status Questionnaire (EQ-5D).

Materials and methods: Patients aged ?18 years were randomized 1:1:1 in ERASURE to subcutaneous treatment groups (secukinumab 150 mg, secukinumab 300 mg, and placebo) and 1:1:1:1 in FIXTURE (including an etanercept 50 mg twice-weekly group). For the present analysis, psoriasis clinical improvement was assessed at week 12 by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) with PASI75 representing 75–89% reduction in symptoms and PASI90 representing 90%-100% reduction. The DLQI and EQ-5D were administered at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 52.

Time to response was computed as the period from the randomization date to the date when a prespecified response in DLQI (score of 0 or 1) or EQ-5D VAS (increase of at least 7 points) had occurred.

Results: The median time to response on the DLQI was significantly faster for the PASI90 group compared to the PASI75 group (DLQI response: 8 weeks vs. 12 weeks; P-value < 0.05). Further, both PASI90 and PASI75 groups achieved a median EQ-5D VAS time to response of 4 weeks.

Conclusion: Secukinumab treatment provides fast relief from patient-reported psoriasis quality of life burden in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Spelman, LJ., Lebwohl, M., Mordin, M., Mallya, UG., Gnanasakthy, A., & Fox, T. (2015). Secukinumab treatment provides fast relief from patient-reported psoriasis burden. Australasian Journal of Dermatology, 56(Suppl 2), 73. DOI: 10.1111/ajd.12337