Patients with atopic dermatitis report year-long improvements with upadacitinib
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Key takeaways:
- Patients with atopic dermatitis were treated once daily with 15 mg or 30 mg of upadacitinib.
- Improvements in itch, sleep, quality of life and mental health increase rapidly and were sustained through 52 weeks.
Adults and adolescents with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis treated with upadacitinib reported year-long improvements in skin symptoms, mental health and quality of life, according to a study.
“Symptoms of atopic dermatitis, such as itch and sleep disturbance, can only be assessed by patients,” Jonathan I. Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of dermatology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and colleagues wrote. “Therefore, it is important to consider patients’ perceptions of their symptoms and the related impact on their quality of life, especially when evaluating treatment benefits.”
In this analysis, the researchers evaluated the effect of upadacitinib on patient-reported outcomes over 52 weeks in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe AD from two phase 3 trials, Measure Up 1 and Measure Up 2.
Of the 1,609 patients included in the analysis, treatment included once-daily upadacitinib 15 mg (n = 557), upadacitinib 30 mg (n = 567) or placebo (n = 485).
Results showed that more than 10% of patients treated with upadacitinib 15 mg and more than 15% treated with upadacitinib 30 mg achieved improvements in itch by week 1. These improvements steadily increased through week 8 (34.3% and 53%, respectively) and was sustained through week 52 (43.4% and 51.2%).
Patients treated with upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg also reported rapidly improved sleep by week 1 (> 15% and > 20%, respectively), which steadily improved by week 32 (71.9% and 86.9%) and was sustained through week 52 (74.9% and 82.7%).
Overall, more than 80% of upadacitinib-treated patients reported meaningful improvement in their quality of life by week 2, which was sustained through week 52 (88.8% and 91.7%).
Approximately half the patients in the upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg groups achieved improvements in anxiety and depression by week 12 (47.8% and 54.5%). This proportion increased through week 32 (54.6% and 61.9%) and was maintained through week 52 (56.7% and 61.3%).
According to the researchers, patients treated with upadacitinib 30 mg generally experienced patient-reported improvements sooner than those treated with upadacitinib 15 mg. Additionally, upadacitinib-treated patients experienced significantly greater improvements overall vs. placebo-treated patients across all patient-reported outcomes.
“Results of this analysis can help support shared treatment decision-making between patients and physicians and may enable more informed treatment strategies for AD,” the researchers concluded.