Patients receiving biologics stay on their therapies longer than patients on systemic therapies, according to results recently published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment.

A recent study presented by Nishadh Sutaria, MD, from Tufts Medical Center Dermatology and colleagues showed that systemic therapies fail more often due to adverse effects, which result in more frequent changes in therapy. 

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“Despite the many options available for psoriasis treatment, many patients have difficulty finding a therapy that works for them long-term,” Sutaria and colleagues wrote in the study. “Therefore, it is common for patients to fail multiple therapies before finding a successful one. This can have a significant effect on quality of life, impose financial hardships, and contribute to worse psychosocial outcomes.”

According to the study, there are varying reasons for psoriasis patients to discontinue treatment, such as lack of efficacy, loss of efficacy, adverse effects and length of time patients can receive therapy before stopping. To describe the patterns of therapy failure among this patient set, the researchers examined failure rates, reasons for discontinuation, and length of time patients can receive therapies before survival time in several systematic and biologic therapies. 

To determine failure rates and survival times for systemic and biological therapies, Sutaria and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis between January 2009 and May 2018, consisting of 250 patients with psoriasis who were seen at referral center for psoriasis and 806 treatment courses of several systemic and biological therapies. 

The results of the analysis showed that systemic therapies failed more often due to their adverse effects (16.4% vs 7.2%, P = .001). Compared to systemic therapies, biologic therapy failed more often due to secondary failure (24.2% vs 9.3%, P = .001). 

According to the researchers, milder forms of psoriasis can often be successfully treated with topical therapies, while moderate to severe psoriasis requires administration of systemic drugs and biologics. Despite the options available, a number of patients still have difficulty finding a therapy that works long term. 

“We hope this study provides useful data and guides future management of patients with psoriasis,” they concluded.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.