ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2018 February;153(1):5-10

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-0488.16.05463-8

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Switching from a biological therapy to another biologic agent in psoriatic patients: the experience of PsOMarche group

Giulia GANZETTI ¹, Anna CAMPANATI ¹ ✉, Alberta BETTACCHI ², Giuliano BRANDOZZI ¹, Valerio BRISIGOTTI ¹, Leonardo BUGATTI ³, Ivana CATALDI ¹, Giorgio FILOSA ³, Alfredo GIACCHETTI ⁴, Giuseppe LEMME ¹, Lorenzo MORRESI ⁵, Massimiliano NICOLINI ³, Valentina POSTACCHINI ¹, Giuseppe RICOTTI ⁴, Laura ROSA ¹, Marco SIMONACCI ², Annamaria OFFIDANI ¹

¹ Dermatological Clinic, Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy; ² UOC Dermatologia, Hospital of Macerata, ASUR Marche AV3, Macerata, Italy; ³ UOC Dermatologia, Carlo Urbani Hospital, ASUR Marche AV2, Jesi, Ancona, Italy; ⁴ UOC Dermatologia INRCA/IRCCS, Ancona, Italy; ⁵ Unit of Dermatology INRCA/IRCCS, Fermo, Italy

BACKGROUND: Switching is a “hot” topic and the main reasons for switching prior biologic agent are for a primary failure, a secondary failure or drug intolerance, patient’s dissatisfaction, physician decision. The aim of the study was to assess the optimization of the switching from a biologic agent to another.
METHODS: Five Dermatological Units have participated to PsOMarche working group have studied thirty-eight patients affected moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis at time 0 (patient recruitment at time of switching from biological therapy to another), 8 weeks (T8), 16 weeks (T16).
RESULTS: Twenty-eight males and 10 females were included in the study. At T0, 18 of 22 patients treated with etanercept had been switched to adalimumab and 4 to ustekinumab. Among 10 patients treated with adalimumab, 5 had been switched to ustekinumab, 2 to golimumab and 3 to certolizumab pegol. One patient treated with Infliximab and 5 patients treated with ustekinumab had been switched to adalimumab. Switching had been performed for primary inefficacy in 9 patients (23.6%) and a secondary failure was evidenced in 29 patients (73.4%). PASI75 was achieved in 53% and in 89.4% of patients after 8 weeks and 16 weeks of switching to the second biologic agent respectively; similarly, PsoDISK score significantly decreased at T8 and T16.
CONCLUSIONS: The experience of PsOMarche group have shown that the switching to a biologic agent to another is a valuable treatment choice in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis experiencing a treatment failure with one biologic therapy, leading to a good improvement in skin disease and in patient’s quality of life.

KEY WORDS: Psoriasis - Biological therapy - Biologic factors