GULLIVER study interim results: Guselkumab in patients with facial and/or genital psoriasis

Facial and genital psoriasis significantly affect patients’ QoL and treatment options are limited.¹ Guselkumab, an IL-23 inhibitor, is effective in treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Results from an interim analysis at Week 12 of the ongoing prospective, single country (Italy), multicenter, noninterventional GULLIVER trial (NCT04439526) evaluating the efficacy and safety of guselkumab in patients with facial and/or genital psoriasis (N = 351) were published in the Journal of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology by Bonifati et al.¹

Patients with facial psoriasis (n = 147) or genital psoriasis (n = 204) were assigned to receive 100 mg subcutaneous guselkumab at Weeks 0 and 4, and then every 8 weeks through Week 52.¹ The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving a facial or genital static Physician Global Assessment (sPGA) score of 0/1 at Week 12.¹

Key learnings

In the facial psoriasis group, 83.3% of patients achieved an sPGA score of 0/1. In addition, 85.7%, 88.9%, and 93.0% of patients had a score of 0/1 for erythema, thickness, and scaling, respectively. 

In the genital psoriasis group, 76.5% of patients achieved an sPGA score of 0/1. Among these patients, 77.7%, 84.9%, and 86.4% of patients achieved a score of 0/1 for erythema, thickness, and scaling, respectively.

Among patients with a baseline PASI score >10, the mean PASI score improved from 19.0 (SD, 8.3) to 2.2 (SD, 4.8) at Week 12.

Overall, 32 patients experienced 44 AEs, of which one patient experienced two mild and treatment-related AEs (nausea and fatigue). No SAEs were observed.

This real-life observational study suggests that guselkumab is a safe and effective treatment for facial and genital psoriasis and offers a potential therapeutic option for patients with psoriasis localized to these difficult-to-treat areas.