Abrocitinib tapering feasible in patients with moderate-to-severe AD

A recent study has shown the feasibility of 24-week abrocitinib tapering in well-responding patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), reducing treatment burden without compromising efficacy.

“Evidence regarding the feasibility of Janus kinase inhibitors tapering following adequate response in moderate-to-severe AD remains limited, and no head-to-head comparisons of tapering regimens have been conducted,” the investigators said.

To address this gap, this retrospective study was conducted, involving 78 patients with moderate-to-severe AD who achieved adequate clinical response with abrocitinib. Participants then underwent tapering over 24 weeks via dose reduction or interval extension.

Of the patients, 36 had dose reduction and 42 interval extension. Most of them (n=76, 97.4 percent) achieved successful tapering.

Nonrelapse rates were 97.4 percent at week 12 and 91.0 percent at week 24. The mean cumulative dose at week 24 decreased by 9,892 mg (6,908 vs 16,800 mg standard), with cost savings of ¥ 2,899.5.

Furthermore, patients with extended dosing intervals had markedly greater strategy-switch rates driven by disease fluctuation (28.6 percent vs 8.3 percent; p=0.041).

This study was limited by its single-centre retrospective design, small sample size, and short follow-up duration, according to the investigators.