Secukinumab sustains early patient-reported outcome benefits through 1 year: Results from 2 phase III randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials comparing secukinumab with etanercept

Background Psoriasis is a chronic condition with negative impact on patients' quality of life that most often requires lifelong effective and safe treatment. Objective This analysis focused on the effect of secukinumab treatment on patient-reported health-related quality of life as assessed by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Methods The proportion of subjects achieving DLQI score 0/1 response at week 24, time to DLQI score 0/1 response, and sustained DLQI score 0/1 response up to week 52 were compared between secukinumab and etanercept. Results Of 1470 subjects, 1144 received secukinumab and 326 received etanercept. DLQI score 0/1 response rates were significantly higher for secukinumab than for etanercept at week 24. The median time to DLQI score 0/1 response was significantly shorter for secukinumab versus etanercept (12 vs 24 weeks; P < .01). The majority of secukinumab-treated subjects achieved DLQI score 0/1 response at week 24 and sustained it through week 52 along with a 90% to 100% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index total score response. Limitations Placebo comparisons are limited during the maintenance period because of rerandomization at week 12. Conclusion Secukinumab treatment provided faster and greater sustained improvements in quality of life than etanercept over 52 weeks, consistent with greater clinical response.