Latest combination therapies in psoriasis: Narrative review of the literature

Dermatol Ther. 2022 Oct;35(10):e15759. doi: 10.1111/dth.15759. Epub 2022 Aug 26.

Abstract

Biological therapies revolutionized the treatment of many chronic inflammatory skin diseases, first of all psoriasis, thanks to their high efficacy and the reduced number of side effects. However, the use of a single biologic drug does not always provide complete control of the disease or associated comorbidities over time. The first biological drugs used for the treatment of psoriasis, tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors, have long been used in combination with traditional topical and systemic therapies to induce a complete remission of the disease that could not be achieved with innovative drug alone. Even with the advent of new biological therapies with more precise molecular targets, the challenge of using combination therapies remained. Psoriatic patients often have major comorbidities, such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, uveitis or have other concomitant conditions such as chronic spontaneous urticaria and atopic dermatitis, which may require different biologic treatments than those indicated in psoriasis. The objective of this article is, through a comprehensive revision of the literature, to analyze in which cases the use of the combination of the latest therapies for psoriasis may be useful.

Keywords: biological drugs; combination therapies; psoriasis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Arthritis, Psoriatic* / drug therapy
  • Biological Products* / adverse effects
  • Humans
  • Psoriasis* / pathology
  • Remission Induction
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Substances

  • Biological Products
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha