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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB was found to be more effective than alefacept monotherapy, as demonstrated in the Canadian Alefacept Phototherapy Psoriasis Study.
The combination therapy group had a PASI 75 response rate twice that seen with alefacept (Amevive) monotherapy, along with impressively long improvement after completing a 12-week course of treatment, Dr. Wayne Gulliver said at the World Congress of Dermatology.
"I think the value of this combination is you get sustained improvement for many weeks and months off therapy," he observed. "I have some patients who take a course every 2 years, and they're happy with that."
The multicenter, open-label, blinded-assessment Canadian clinical trial involved 98 patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis who were randomized to alefacept 15 mg IM once weekly alone or in combination with narrow-band UVB phototherapy thrice weekly for 12 weeks, followed by a 24-week observation period.
The primary outcome measure was a PASI 75 response at week 16. This occurred in 45% of patients receiving combination therapy, compared with 22% receiving alefacept monotherapy, according to Dr. Gulliver, professor of dermatology and chairman of medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's.
Ten patients in the dual-therapy group achieved a PASI 90 response at week 16, compared with 4 on alefacept alone. Twenty-nine patients in the combination treatment arm were rated as clear or almost clear by Physician's Global Assessment at any time during the study, compared with 17 patients on monotherapy.
PASI 50 and PASI 75 improvements often occurred several months earlier with alefacept plus narrow-band UVB. The combination was "extremely well tolerated," with a side-effect profile quite similar to that of alefacept alone, he said.
He added that he considers this combination especially useful in patients who have failed numerous other potent therapies. "This gives us one more option for patients who really are running out of options," Dr. Gulliver said.
The other situation in which he finds alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB particularly advantageous is for patients who would like to be off of systemic therapy for a long while, such as women who are interested in having a baby.
Dr. Gulliver disclosed that has been a consultant to and/or has been paid for clinical trials for 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Astellas Pharma Canada, which markets alefacept.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB was found to be more effective than alefacept monotherapy, as demonstrated in the Canadian Alefacept Phototherapy Psoriasis Study.
The combination therapy group had a PASI 75 response rate twice that seen with alefacept (Amevive) monotherapy, along with impressively long improvement after completing a 12-week course of treatment, Dr. Wayne Gulliver said at the World Congress of Dermatology.
"I think the value of this combination is you get sustained improvement for many weeks and months off therapy," he observed. "I have some patients who take a course every 2 years, and they're happy with that."
The multicenter, open-label, blinded-assessment Canadian clinical trial involved 98 patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis who were randomized to alefacept 15 mg IM once weekly alone or in combination with narrow-band UVB phototherapy thrice weekly for 12 weeks, followed by a 24-week observation period.
The primary outcome measure was a PASI 75 response at week 16. This occurred in 45% of patients receiving combination therapy, compared with 22% receiving alefacept monotherapy, according to Dr. Gulliver, professor of dermatology and chairman of medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's.
Ten patients in the dual-therapy group achieved a PASI 90 response at week 16, compared with 4 on alefacept alone. Twenty-nine patients in the combination treatment arm were rated as clear or almost clear by Physician's Global Assessment at any time during the study, compared with 17 patients on monotherapy.
PASI 50 and PASI 75 improvements often occurred several months earlier with alefacept plus narrow-band UVB. The combination was "extremely well tolerated," with a side-effect profile quite similar to that of alefacept alone, he said.
He added that he considers this combination especially useful in patients who have failed numerous other potent therapies. "This gives us one more option for patients who really are running out of options," Dr. Gulliver said.
The other situation in which he finds alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB particularly advantageous is for patients who would like to be off of systemic therapy for a long while, such as women who are interested in having a baby.
Dr. Gulliver disclosed that has been a consultant to and/or has been paid for clinical trials for 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Astellas Pharma Canada, which markets alefacept.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB was found to be more effective than alefacept monotherapy, as demonstrated in the Canadian Alefacept Phototherapy Psoriasis Study.
The combination therapy group had a PASI 75 response rate twice that seen with alefacept (Amevive) monotherapy, along with impressively long improvement after completing a 12-week course of treatment, Dr. Wayne Gulliver said at the World Congress of Dermatology.
"I think the value of this combination is you get sustained improvement for many weeks and months off therapy," he observed. "I have some patients who take a course every 2 years, and they're happy with that."
The multicenter, open-label, blinded-assessment Canadian clinical trial involved 98 patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis who were randomized to alefacept 15 mg IM once weekly alone or in combination with narrow-band UVB phototherapy thrice weekly for 12 weeks, followed by a 24-week observation period.
The primary outcome measure was a PASI 75 response at week 16. This occurred in 45% of patients receiving combination therapy, compared with 22% receiving alefacept monotherapy, according to Dr. Gulliver, professor of dermatology and chairman of medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's.
Ten patients in the dual-therapy group achieved a PASI 90 response at week 16, compared with 4 on alefacept alone. Twenty-nine patients in the combination treatment arm were rated as clear or almost clear by Physician's Global Assessment at any time during the study, compared with 17 patients on monotherapy.
PASI 50 and PASI 75 improvements often occurred several months earlier with alefacept plus narrow-band UVB. The combination was "extremely well tolerated," with a side-effect profile quite similar to that of alefacept alone, he said.
He added that he considers this combination especially useful in patients who have failed numerous other potent therapies. "This gives us one more option for patients who really are running out of options," Dr. Gulliver said.
The other situation in which he finds alefacept in combination with narrow-band UVB particularly advantageous is for patients who would like to be off of systemic therapy for a long while, such as women who are interested in having a baby.
Dr. Gulliver disclosed that has been a consultant to and/or has been paid for clinical trials for 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Astellas Pharma Canada, which markets alefacept.
FROM THE WORLD CONGRESS OF DERMATOLOGY
Major Finding: A PASI 75 response at week 16 was achieved in 45% of patients who received combination therapy, compared with 22% with alefacept monotherapy.
Data Source: A multicenter, open-label, blinded-assessment Canadian clinical trial of 98 patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.
Disclosures: Dr. Gulliver disclosed that has been a consultant to and/or has been paid for clinical trials for 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Astellas Pharma Canada, which markets alefacept.