Assessment of Clinical Response to Anifrolumab in Patients With Refractory Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

This case series examines the efficacy of anifrolumab as a therapeutic option for patients with lupus erythematosus.

A gyrate pattern of discoid lupus erythematosus

“…Anifrolumab was able to substantially reduce the severity of lupus‐associated skin disease by at least 50% in the Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index (CLASI) activity score in 49% of patients compared to 25% receiving placebo. In concordance with these results, Shaw et al 2 . recently reported a mean reduction of 65.1% in the CLASI activity score of patients with refractory DLE in as rapidly as 8 weeks from anifrolumab initiation.…”

Anifrolumab for Adolescent Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

“…Anifrolumab recently emerged as a promising therapeutic option for adult patients with refractory DLE, as demonstrated in several case series and a retrospective cohort study from our group . We report first outcomes data of adolescent patients with SLE and refractory DLE treated with anifrolumab.…”

“…3 Anifrolumab recently emerged as a promising therapeutic option for adult patients with refractory DLE, as demonstrated in several case series and a retrospective cohort study from our group. 1,2 We report first outcomes data of adolescent patients with SLE and refractory DLE treated with anifrolumab. Not only did we observe significant improvement in skin disease with just 1 dose of anifrolumab (including mean 18-point reduction in CLASI-A score, when a reduction by 3-4 points is considered clinically meaningful), but clinical improvement occurred within a matter of weeks.…”

Rapid Improvement in Recalcitrant Cutaneous Juvenile Dermatomyositis With Anifrolumab Treatment

“…FDA approved in 2021 for adult patients with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), anifrolumab has emerged as a particularly efficacious agent for the treatment of refractory cutaneous lupus (CLE) . The rapid mediation of clinical improvement of anifrolumab has been attributed to the selective antagonism of type I IFN signaling, which is known to correlate with CLE disease activity . Notably, type I IFN dysregulation has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of DM, with higher IFN scores corresponding to increased cutaneous disease severity .…”