EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF EFALIZUMAB THERAPY IN TWO PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH PLAQUE PSORIASIS

James Turner, MD, Mid-South Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center, Bartlett, TN, United States

American Academy of Dermatology - 63rd Annual Meeting

Feb 18, 2005 to Feb 22, 2005

Poster Abstracts

Abstract P2747

Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis often require long-term treatment to maintain continuous disease control. However, extended use of traditional systemic therapies and phototherapy can be limited by the risk of treatment-associated toxicities. Efalizumab is a humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibody that inhibits multiple T-cell—mediated processes involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Although efalizumab is indicated for adults (>18 years), 2 cases of pediatric patients with plaque psoriasis who have been successfully treated with efalizumab are presented. The first is a 15-year-old male patient whose psoriasis (body surface area [BSA] affected, 18%) was unresponsive to multiple topical therapies. The patient was started on subcutaneous (SC) efalizumab 1 mg/kg/wk, and within 7 weeks of therapy his psoriasis was improved (BSA 6%). After 3 months of efalizumab therapy, his central lesions had cleared and only some thin peripheral lesions remained (BSA 3%). Concomitant mid-potency topical corticosteroid creams were prescribed to resolve the persistent peripheral lesions. The second is a 17-year-old female patient with moderate psoriasis (BSA 12%, including the scalp). She had received multiple topical corticosteroids and tazarotene with only limited improvement. Efalizumab, 1 mg/kg/wk SC, was initiated, and after 3 months her psoriasis was almost clear (BSA ~1%). Her scalp lesions were also improved, with only one small spot remaining. Both patients tolerated efalizumab therapy well, and platelet counts remained within normal limits. Efalizumab therapy appeared to be efficacious and safe in these pediatric patients with plaque psoriasis.

100% sponsored by Genentech, Inc.