In addition to previous data demonstrating its effectiveness in the treatment of plaque psoriasis, apremilast has demonstrated positive activity in treating scalp and palmoplantar psoriasis lesions, according to recent research.
Kim Papp, MD, PhD, and colleagues evaluated the clinical efficacy of apremilast (APR) for such purposes in a phase 2b, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study which included patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (n=352). Patients were randomly assigned evenly to receive either APR 10 mg (APR10), APR 20 mg (APR20) or APR 30 mg (APR30) twice daily, or placebo. Those who originally received placebo were then re-randomized at week 16 to receive either APR20 or APR30.
Results from the study were presented in a poster at the 70th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
According to the researchers, only 231 of the initial patient population (placebo, n=53; APR10, n=62; APR20, n=57; APR30, n=59) qualified for the analysis, which evaluated lesions on the scalp, palms and soles using the Physician Global Assessment (PGA) scale. The researchers sought to find the proportion of patients with baseline scores ≥3 who achieved scores of ‘‘clear’’ or ‘‘almost clear’’ (0-1) and ‘‘clear,’’ ‘‘almost clear,’’ or ‘‘mild’’ (0-2) at weeks 16 and 24.
With regard to scalp lesions, more patients in the APR treatment arms achieved a score of 0-1 at week 16 than those in the placebo group (APR10 [22.6%], APR20 [45.6%], APR30 [44.1%] vs. placebo [15.1%]), with improvements continuing to 24 weeks. Just over 43% of patients who were re-randomized at week 16 achieved a PGA score of 0-1 by week 24. A score of 0-2 was achieved by 30.2% of patients assigned to placebo, 38.7% assigned to APR10, 59.6% assigned to APR20 and 59.3% assigned to APR30 by week 16. By week 24, that same score was achieved by 38.7% (APR10), 52.6% (APR20) and 52.5% (APR30).
For lesions on the palms and soles, among patients treated with APR30, 66.7% achieved a score of 0-1 at week 16 and 77.8% achieved a score of 0-1 by week 24, compared to 20% and 30% of those assigned to placebo. Additionally, 88.9% and 77.8% achieved a score of 0-2, compared with 50.0% of those assigned to placebo.
Disclosure: This study was sponsored by Celgene Corporation.
For more information:
Papp K. Abstract #5532. Presented at: The 70th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. March 16-20, 2012. San Diego, Calif.