Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in Singapore.

Wai Sze Agnes CHAN; Yisheng WONG; Hazel Hwee Boon OON; Colin Thiam Seng THENG; Wei-Sheng CHONG

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Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in Singapore.

Author: Wai Sze Agnes CHAN ¹ ; Yisheng WONG ¹ ; Hazel Hwee Boon OON ¹ ; Colin Thiam Seng THENG ² ; Wei-Sheng CHONG ¹
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1. National Skin Centre, Singapore.
2. The Skin Specialist & Laser Clinic, Mount Alvernia Medical Centre, Singapore.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Biologic; psoriasis; ustekinumab
MeSH: Adult; Humans; Ustekinumab/therapeutic use*; Singapore; Retrospective Studies; Treatment Outcome; Severity of Illness Index; Double-Blind Method; Psoriasis/drug therapy*
From:Singapore medical journal 2023;64(7):434-438
CountrySingapore
Language:English
Abstract: INTRODUCTION:Ustekinumab is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to the p40 subunit of both interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23, and it is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. In this study, we assessed the efficacy and safety of patients receiving ustekinumab for psoriasis.
METHODS:This retrospective study included all adults with chronic plaque psoriasis who were prescribed ustekinumab in a tertiary dermatologic centre between December 2009 and December 2015. Efficacy end points included a proportion of patients achieving at least 50% and 75% improvement from baseline psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) and body surface area (BSA) at Weeks 4 and 16.
RESULTS:A total of 99 patients were prescribed ustekinumab; 69% of these were Chinese, followed by 15% Indians and 9% Malays. 31 patients had documented PASI scores and 55 patients had documented BSA improvements. In patients with recorded PASI scores, 29 (93.5%) of 31 patients achieved PASI 50, and 21 (67.7%) of 31 achieved PASI 75 at week 16. In patients with recorded BSA, 43 (78.2%) of 55 had at least 50% BSA improvement, and 31 (56.4%) of 55 achieved 75% BSA improvement at 16 weeks. Regarding safety, no patient experienced tuberculosis reactivation. A total of 11 (11%) of 99 patients had latent tuberculosis infection and were treated with prophylactic isoniazid. No patient experienced serious adverse events. No cardiovascular events, cutaneous malignancies or deaths were reported over six years.
CONCLUSION:Ustekinumab is safe and efficacious in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in a multiethnic Asian population.