Delgocitinib cream improves quality of life in teens with chronic hand eczema

Adolescents with moderate-to-severe chronic hand eczema report a considerable improvement in their quality of life (QoL) following treatment with delgocitinib cream, according to data from the international phase III DELTA TEEN study.

DELTA TEEN involved 98 participants (mean age 14.6 years, 59 percent female, 91 percent White) whose chronic hand eczema had a moderate impact on their QoL, as reflected by the mean Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) score of 8.8 at baseline, reported senior author Dr Lawrence Eichenfield from the University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, US. [EADV 2026, abstract 1174]

From baseline to week 4, CDLQI scores decreased by a mean of 4.09 among participants who received delgocitinib cream vs 2.34 among those who received the cream vehicle (difference, –1.75, 95 percent confidence interval, –3.1 to –0.10; p=0.038), Eichenfield noted.

Results at 16 weeks were similar, with the change in CDLQI score from baseline still significantly greater in the delgocitinib group vs the vehicle group (–5.57 vs –2.92; difference, –2.65; p=0.004).

The proportion of adolescents who reported a CDLQI score of 0 (no impact) was higher in the delgocitinib group than in the vehicle group both at weeks 4 (10.8 percent vs 8.3 percent) and 16 (27 percent vs 0 percent), but only the difference at week 16 reached statistical significance (p=0.005).

Eichenfield pointed out that the proportion of adolescents with CDLQI scores of 0–1 (no or minimal impact) increased over time in the delgocitinib group (5.4 percent at baseline, 28.4 percent at week 4, 40.5 percent at week 16) and in the vehicle group (0 percent at baseline, 16.7 percent at week 4, 33.3 percent at week 16).

Meanwhile, the proportion of adolescents with CDLQI scores of 13–30 (large/very large impact) decreased over time in the delgocitinib cream 20 mg/g group (21.6 percent at baseline, 6.8 percent at week 4, 4.1 percent at week 16) and to a lesser extent in the vehicle group (25 percent at baseline, 16.7 percent at week 4, 16.7 percent at week 16), he added.

Across the CDLQI domains, changes from baseline generally favoured delgocitinib cream over the vehicle at weeks 4 and 16, except for treatment‑related problems, as Eichenfield noted. Significant between-group differences were observed for the leisure domain at week 4 (–1.28 vs –0.37; difference, –0.91; p=0.008) and for the symptoms and feelings domain at week 16 (–1.83 vs –0.82; difference, –1.01; p<0.001).

The proportions of adolescents with a score of 0 across all CDLQI domains were likewise higher in the delgocitinib group vs the vehicle group at weeks 4 and 16, except for treatment‑related problems at week 16. For symptoms and feelings, the between-group difference was statistically significant at week 16 (48.6 percent vs 5 percent; p<0.001).

These findings are consistent with those in adults and suggest that delgocitinib cream can be a valuable treatment option in adolescents with moderate-to-severe chronic hand eczema, for whom there is no specifically approved treatment, Eichenfield said. [Contact Dermat 2026;95:91-99]

DELTA TEEN was a phase III study, wherein the participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment with delgocitinib cream 20 mg/g (n=74) or cream vehicle (n=24) twice daily for 16 weeks. The mean age at onset of chronic hand eczema was 9.8 years, and the mean duration of disease at treatment initiation was 4.8 years.

In a question-and-answer session, Eichenfield acknowledged that it remains “unknown” whether early therapeutic intervention with delgocitinib cream could modify the course of paediatric hand eczema.

“Hand eczema is tricky because it can be associated with atopic dermatitis, irritant dermatitis, or allergic contact dermatitis. When the eczema is there, it has this sort of mixed pathophysiologic factors to it,” he explained.

Nevertheless, minimizing the impact of hand eczema on young patients’ QoL with early disease management “makes sense over time,” Eichenfield said.