Ustekinumab improves health-related quality of life in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis:results from the LOTUS trial and curative effect observation

Little is known about the impact of psoriasis treatment on health-related quality of life(HRQoL) in China.A Phase 3,double-blind,placebo-controlled(LOTUS) study demonstrated that ustekinumab was highly effective and well-tolerated in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.Objective:To evaluate the effect of ustekinumab on HRQoL in Chinese patients from the LOTUS study.Methods:A total of 322 patients were randomly given ustekinumab 45 mg(n=160) or placebo(n=162) at weeks 0 and 4.The placebo group crossed over to receive ustekinumab at weeks 12 and 16,while the ustekinumab group received another dose of ustekinumab at week 16.HRQoL endpoints at week 12 included the changes in Dermatology Life Quality Index(DLQI) score from baseline,changes in individual DLQI domains,proportion of patients achieving a DLQI score of0 or 1,and proportion of patients achieving clinically meaningful improvement in DLQI(≥5 point reduction).Results:Ustekinumab-treated patients demonstrated a greater improvement in DLQI from baseline than placebo-treated patients(-9.3 vs.-1.9,P0.001) at week 12.Moreover,42.6%of patients treated with ustekinumab and 10.7%of patients treated with placebo achieved a DLQI≤1(P0.001).Likewise,71.5%of patients treated with ustekinumab and 29.6%of patients receiving placebo achieved a reduction of ≥5 point(P0.001).Individual DLQI domains were significantly improved in ustekinumab-treated as compared to placebo group at week 12(P0.001).Improvements in DLQI in the ustekinumab group were maintained through week 28.Placebo-treated patients who crossed over to receive ustekinumab experienced similar improvements compared with the original randomized ustekinumab group.Conclusion:Ustekinumab treatment significantly improves HRQoL in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.