Dupilumab Considered Safe, Effective Treatment for Adolescent, Adult Patients With AD

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Two posters presented at the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting that used the GLOBOSTAD study found dupilumab to be safe and effective in adolescent and adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Both posters used the ongoing GLOBOSTAD study, a 5-year prospective, observational study that characterizes patient populations initiating dupilumab treatment, and reports on the long-term effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in real-world AD treatment. The first poster¹ featured research that presented the study's patient-reported outcomes and summarized the adverse events (AEs) one year after dupilumab initiation.

Woman's hands with atopic dermatitis (AD) | Image Credit: InfiniteStudio - stock.adobe.com

The GLOBOSTAD study enrolled patients aged 12 years or older with moderate-to-severe AD who received dupilumab and involved assessments at baseline, 3 months (3M), 6M, and 12M.

The researchers noted that 758, 863, and 705 patients completed 1 or more follow-up assessments at 3M, 6M, and 12M, respectively. Of these patients, 187 (20.8%) reported dupilumab-related AEs. The most common AE was allergic conjunctivitis, with most events reported as mild/moderate and recovering/recovered.

Also, the researchers explained that patients reported rapid improvements in mean (standard deviation [SD]) patient-oriented eczema measure from 19.7 (6.4) at baseline to 8.7 (6.6) at 3M to 7.1 (5.8) at 12M. As for the mean (SD) pruritus numerical rating scale, it decreased from 6.3 (2.2) at baseline to 2.5 (2.4) at 3M to 1.7 (2.0) at 12M.

Additionally, the mean (SD) scoring of AD sleep loss improved from 5.6 (3.0) at baseline to 1.7 (2.3) at 3M to 1.0 (1.8) at 12M. Lastly, the mean (SD) dermatology life quality index (DLQI) improved from 13.7 (7.1) at baseline to 5.3 (5.1) at 3M to 3.9 (4.2) at 12M. Similarly, the mean (SD) of the children’s DLQI decreased from 12.2 (6.2) at baseline to 2.7 (2.9) at 3M to 4.8 (4.8) at 12M.

As demonstrated by these scores, the patients reported rapid improvements in skin lesions, itch, sleep, and overall quality of life after initiating dupilumab treatment, which they sustained through the 1-year observation period.

The second poster² used the GLOBOSTAD study to report dupilumab effectiveness through physician-assessed AD clinical tools that measure disease severity over time. The tools included the eczema area and severity index (EASI), where patients with a score greater than 21 are considered to have severe AD, and those with a score of 7 or below are considered to have mild AD/no disease. They also used scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) in which patients with a score greater than 50 had severe AD and those with a score less than 25 had mild AD/no disease.

According to the poster, the mean (SD) EASI score improved during the study from 25.1 (12.8) at baseline to 6.1 (8.0) at 3M to 4.2 (8.4) at 12M. Similarly, the mean (SD) SCORAD score improved from 59.3 (16.6) at baseline to 25.3 (16.4) at 3M to 17.6 (13.0) at 12M.

Consequently, clinical AD assessments rapidly improved upon initiating dupilumab treatment and were sustained through the end of the 1-year observation period. Overall, based on the patient and physician input presented in these posters, the GLOBOSTAD study shows that dupilumab is safe and effective for the treatment of AD in adolescent and adult patients.

References

1. Murrell DF, Ferrucci SM, Foti C, et al. Patient-reported outcomes and safety in adolescent and adult atopic dermatitis patients treated with dupilumab: real-world insights one year into the GLOBOSTAD multinational prospective observational study. Presented at American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting; March 8-12, 2024; San Diego, CA. Poster 53758.

2. Ferrucci SM, Calzavara-Pinton P, Karlova I, et al. Physician-assessed effectiveness and safety in adolescent and adult atopic dermatitis patients treated with dupilumab: real-world insights one year into the GLOBOSTAD multinational prospective observational study. Presented at American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting; March 8-12, 2024; San Diego, CA. Poster 52844.