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Systematic Review of Efficacy and Tolerability

Darren M. Ashcroft, PhD; Alain Li Wan Po, PhD; Hywel C. Williams, PhD; Christopher E. M. Griffiths, MD

Arch Dermatol. 2000;136:1536-1543.

Objective  To examine the efficacy and tolerability of calcipotriene combined with phototherapy or systemic therapies compared with monotherapy for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis.

Design  Quantitative systematic review of 11 randomized controlled trials involving a total of 756 patients with plaque psoriasis.

Main Outcome Measures  Rate ratios (RRs) for marked improvement or clearance in patient and investigator overall assessments of response; mean difference in percentage change in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index; and RRs for clearance in patient and investigator overall assessments of response. Adverse effects were estimated with the RR and the rate difference in terms of withdrawal rate, proportion of patients experiencing adverse events, and proportion of patients with cutaneous and noncutaneous adverse effects.

Results  Antipsoriatic effects of acitretin, cyclosporine, and psoralen–UV-A phototherapy were enhanced with the addition of topical calcipotriene using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index as the outcome, but this is not translated into an increase in the number of patients who achieve at least marked improvement. At the end of treatment, the RRs for marked improvement or clearance in patient assessments were as follows: calcipotriene plus acitretin vs acitretin alone (12 weeks), 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-1.9); calcipotriene plus cyclosporine vs cyclosporine alone (6 weeks), 1.2 (95% CI, 0.9-1.6); and calcipotriene plus psoralen–UV-A vs psoralen–UV-A alone (12 weeks), 1.2 (95% CI, 0.9-1.6). Patients were also no more likely to obtain marked improvement or better with calcipotriene plus UV-B therapy than with UV-B therapy alone (RR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.8-1.1 at 8 weeks in the patient assessment). There is limited evidence that use of calcipotriene might reduce the cumulative exposure to phototherapy and systemic treatment. During the short duration of these trials, there were no significant differences in withdrawal rates or adverse effects between the combined regimens and their corresponding monotherapy control interventions.

Conclusions  Overall, there is insufficient evidence to support any large effects in favor of combination treatment. In the patient assessments, the results do not show an adjuvant effect, but there is some evidence that use of calcipotriene might reduce cumulative exposure to systemic therapy to obtain clearance. There were no long-term morbidity data on the effectiveness of any of the combinations studied. Given that psoriasis is a chronic recurrent disease for most patients, longer trials are needed to determine whether the addition of topical calcipotriene to systemic therapy improves the risk-benefit ratio by reducing the long-term risk of toxic effects. Equally important is the need to examine the impact of such combinations on the duration of remission after treatment.

From the Department of Medicines Management, Keele University, Keele (Dr Ashcroft); the Centre for Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham (Prof Li Wan Po); the Department of Dermatology, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham (Prof Williams); and the Dermatology Centre, University of Manchester, Hope Hospital, Salford (Prof Griffiths), England. Dr Ashcroft has received funding from E. Merck Pharmaceuticals, which initially marketed tacalcitol in the United Kingdom. Prof Li Wan Po has received funding for studentships from E. Merck Pharmaceuticals and Leo Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of calcipotriene. Prof Griffith's institution has been the beneficiary of research grants from Leo Pharmaceuticals and E. Merck Pharmaceuticals.

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