Risk of type 2 inflammation-related diseases with IL-17 inhibitors in PsO: A retrospective study

Results from a retrospective cohort study evaluating the incidence of type 2 inflammation-related diseases in patients with psoriasis (PsO) receiving interleukin-17 inhibitor (IL-17i; n = 1072) vs non-IL-17i (n = 2770) therapy were published in the British Journal of Dermatology by Li et al. The primary outcome was the incidence of type 2 inflammation-related disease within 3 years of treatment initiation. 

Key data: Over the 3-year follow-up period, IL-17i therapy was associated with an increased risk of incident type 2 inflammation-related diseases vs non-IL-17i therapies (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–1.79; p = 0.004). The increased risk was observed across age and sex subgroups, with a particularly pronounced effect in women (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.63–2.35; p < 0.001) and patients with comorbid psoriatic arthritis (PsA; HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.23–5.77; p = 0.01). The increased risk of incident type 2 inflammation-related diseases was also particularly pronounced for patients receiving IL-17i therapy compared with phototherapy (HR, 11.69; 95% CI, 5.87–23.30; p < 0.001) or topical therapy (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.36–1.85; p < 0.001). 

Key learning: In this study, IL-17 therapy was associated with significantly increased risk of type 2 inflammation-related diseases compared with non-IL-17i therapy over 3 years in patients with PsO, warranting further evaluation in prospective, multicenter studies.