Patients report AD symptom improvement with oral abrocitinib monotherapy

Adult and adolescent patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis had improved symptoms with abrocitinib monotherapy, according to a study of patient-reported outcomes.

“Abrocitinib is an oral, once-daily Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) selective inhibitor under investigation for the treatment of moderate to severe AD. By selectively inhibiting JAK1, abrocitinib modulates the signaling pathways of several key cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of AD and pruritus,” Jonathan I. Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and colleagues wrote. “Although it is important to establish efficacy and safety for new treatments, clinician-reported outcome assessments do not capture the full extent of treatment benefits experienced by patients; therefore, it is important to report the clinically relevant and complementary data captured by patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments from clinical trials.”

The study used pooled data from three international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials to analyze patient-reported outcomes including global severity, itch, and other signs and symptoms of AD in 942 patients.

Patient Global Assessment score improved to 0/1 in 35.5% of patients taking 200 mg abrocitinib, 19.8% of patients taking 100 mg abrocitinib and 5.9% of patients taking placebo.

Night Time Itch Scale improvement of at least 4 points in the first 12 weeks was recorded in 57% of the 200 mg group, 42.7% of the 100 mg group and 12.7% of the placebo group. Likewise, Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure score changed by –11.4, –8.2 and –3.4, while Pruritis and Symptoms Assessment for Atopic Dermatitis score had a 1-point improvement in 75.2%, 65.1% and 33.5%, respectively.

In addition, depression, anxiety and fatigue improved in both of the abrocitinib treatment groups.

“The results of these analyses suggest that abrocitinib is effective for [adults] and adolescents with moderate to severe AD,” the authors wrote. “These results of PRO assessments provide important information on the efficacy of abrocitinib from the patient perspective and complement clinician-reported efficacy and safety outcomes.”