Survey, study results on psoriasis top dermatology reads for week

Survey results finding that Humira is the most prescribed biologic for treating psoriasis when compared with Enbrel was the most-read article of the past week on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other widely read articles included study results showing patients with psoriasis having an increased risk of new-onset migraine and a novel computer-aided classifier having a higher sensitivity than dermatology clinicians in identifying melanomas:

Survey finds Humira most prescribed biologic for treating psoriasis compared with Enbrel

A survey by Decision Resources Group found that Humira was the biologic most prescribed for moderate-to-severe psoriasis when compared with Enbrel, according to a press release.

However, Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen/Pfizer) had a more favorable reimbursement environment compared with Humira (adalimumab, AbbVie), according to the release. Read more

Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis associated with increased migraine risk

Patients with psoriasis had an increased risk of new-onset migraine dependent on disease severity, and patients with psoriatic arthritis also had an increased risk, according to recently published study results.

Researchers studied a nationwide Danish cohort of 5,379,859 citizens aged 18 years and older from 1997 to 2011. The cohort included 53,006 patients with mild psoriasis, 6,831 patients with severe psoriasis and 6,243 patients with psoriatic arthritis. Read more

Provectus to study novel drug combined with Keytruda for stage IV melanoma

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals announced in a press release that it has completed protocol for a phase1b/2 testing of its investigational drug PV-10 in combination with Keytruda in patients with stage IV melanoma.

PV-10 is novel drug that is injected into solid tumors and is undergoing phase 3 testing for patients with stage III melanoma, according to the release. Read more

Computer-aided classification displayed high sensitivity for melanoma

A novel computer-aided classifier had a higher sensitivity than dermatology clinicians in identifying melanomas, according to recently published study results.

Laura K. Ferris

Laura K. Ferris, MD, PhD, of the department of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined the performance of a novel computer-assisted classifier “that uses decision forest classification of dermoscopic images to generate a lesion severity score.” Read more

FDA approves Humira for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa

The FDA has approved Humira (adalimumab) for treating adults with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, according to a press release from AbbVie.

“Hidradenitis suppurativa is an under recognized and often devastating disease affecting women and men in their early adulthood and for years to follow,” Alexa Kimball, MD, MPH, director of the Clinical Unit for Research Trials and Outcomes in Skin at Massachusetts General Hospital, professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and a principal trial investigator, told Healio.com/Dermatology. “Having a validated treatment option with rigorous data to support its use is a major step forward for our patients.” Read more