Safety and Efficacy of the Sirolimus Gel for TSC Patients With Facial Skin Lesions in a Long-Term, Open-Label, Extension, Uncontrolled Clinical Trial

Introduction: Our previous clinical studies have demonstrated the short-term efficacy and safety of the sirolimus gel for patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). However, long-term clinical evidence is lacking. Our objective was to assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with the sirolimus gel for the skin lesions of TSC patients.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled clinical trial in 94 Japanese patients with TSC. Patients applied the 0.2% sirolimus gel on their face or head twice daily for > 52 weeks (maximum 136 weeks for safety). The safety endpoints were the rate of adverse event (AE)-caused discontinuation (primary endpoint) and the incidence of AEs. The efficacy endpoint was the response rate of angiofibromas, cephalic plaques, and hypomelanotic macules.

Results: Among 94 enrolled patients (mean age, 21 years; range 3-53 years), the rate of AE-caused discontinuation was 2.1% (2/94 patients). Although application site irritation and dry skin occurred relatively frequently, none of the drug-related AEs were serious; most of the drug-related AEs resolved rapidly. The major drug-related AEs (≥ 5% in incidence) were application site irritation (30.9%), dry skin (27.7%), acne (20.2%), eye irritation (8.5%), pruritus (8.5%), erythema (7.4%), dermatitis acneiform (6.4%), and dermatitis contact (5.3%). The response rates of angiofibromas, cephalic plaques, and hypomelanotic macules were 78.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 68.0-86.3%], 66.7% (95% CI 51.1-80.0%), and 72.2% (95% CI 46.5-90.3%), respectively.

Conclusions: The gel was well tolerated for a long time by patients with TSC involving facial skin lesions and continued to be effective.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02634931.