Persistence and Effectiveness of Non-Biologic Systemic Therapies for Moderate-Severe Psoriasis in Adults: a Systematic Review

Kayleigh Mason, Sophie Williams, Zenas Yiu, Kathleen McElhone, Darren Ashcroft, Christine Kleyn, Zarif K Jabbar-Lopez, Caroline M Owen, Nick J Reynolds, Catherine H Smith, Nina Wilson, Richard Warren, CEM Griffiths

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Abstract

Background
The persistence and effectiveness of systemic therapies for moderate‐severe psoriasis in current clinical practice are poorly characterised.

Objectives
To systematically review observational studies investigating the persistence and effectiveness of acitretin, ciclosporin, fumaric acid esters (FAE) and methotrexate involving at least 100 adult patients with moderate‐severe psoriasis, exposed to therapy for ≥3 months.

Methods
Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library and PubMed were searched from 01/01/2007 to 01/11/2017 for observational studies reporting on persistence (therapy duration or the proportion of patients discontinuing therapy during follow‐up) or effectiveness (improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index [PASI] or Physician Global Assessment [PGA]).

Results
Of 411 identified studies, 8 involving 4624 psoriasis patients were included. Variations in the definitions and analyses of persistence and effectiveness outcomes prevented a meta‐analysis being conducted. One prospective multicentre study reported drug survival probabilities of 23% (ciclosporin), 42% (acitretin) and 50% (methotrexate) at 1 year. Effectiveness outcomes were not reported for either acitretin or ciclosporin. The persistence and effectiveness of FAE and methotrexate were better characterised, but mean discontinuation times ranged from 28‐50 months (FAE) and 7·7‐22·3 months (methotrexate). At 12 months’ follow‐up, three studies reported 76% (FAE), 53% (methotrexate) and 59% (methotrexate) of patients achieved ≥75% reduction in PASI and one reported 76% of FAE‐exposed patients achieved a markedly improved/clear PGA.

Conclusions
The comparative persistence and effectiveness of acitretin, ciclosporin, FAE and methotrexate in real‐world clinical practice in the past decade cannot be well‐described due to the inconsistency of the methods used.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)256-264
JournalBr J Dermatol
Volume181
Issue number2
Early online date10 Jan 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

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