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Summary: Background: Promoter methylation of tumour suppressor genes (TSGs) has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of several types of cancer. Regarding melanoma, over 100 genes that contribute to its pathogenesis have been identified to be aberrantly hypermethylated. Objectives: This is a retrospective observational study that aims to analyse the prevalence of CpG island methylation in a series of primary melanomas, to identify the associations with the main clinicopathological features, and to explore the prognostic significance of methylation in melanoma survival. Materials and methods: DNA methylation was analysed using methylation‐specific multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification in a series of 170 melanoma formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tumour samples. The relationship between the methylation status, known somatic mutations and clinicopathological features was evaluated. Disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were displayed by the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: In the entire cohort, one or more genes were detected to be methylated in 55% of the patients. The most prevalent methylated genes were RARB 31%, PTEN 24%, APC 16%, CDH13 16%, ESR1 14%, CDKN2A 6% and RASSF1 5%. An association between aberrant methylation and aggressive clinicopathological features was observed (older age, increased Breslow thickness, presence of mitosis and ulceration, fast‐growing melanomas, advancing stage and TERT mutations). Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed a correlation of methylation and poorer DFS and OS. Conclusions: Aberrant methylation of TSGs is a frequent event in melanoma. It is associated with aggressive clinicopathological features and poorer survival. Epigenetic alterations may represent a significant prognostic marker with utility in routine practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Certolizumab is an Fc-free PEGylated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) inhibitor recently approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, although there is limited real-world evidence on the effectiveness and safety in patients with plaque psoriasis treated with certolizumab. The objective of this article is to determine the effectiveness, drug survival, and safety, including pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation, of certolizumab in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis under real-world conditions., Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter, observational study performed in 15 hospitals in Spain. It evaluates the effectiveness and safety of certolizumab in plaque psoriasis in the clinical practice setting., Results: A total of 67 patients (73% female) were evaluated with a mean baseline Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) of 8.9. At Week 12, the mean PASI was 2.3 (n = 67), 1.3 (n = 57) at Week 24 and 1.3 at Week 52 (n = 34). Absolute PASI < 3 was achieved in 69, 86, and 92% of patients at Weeks 12, 24, and 52, respectively, as observed. For its part, using the under-response imputation analysis, PASI < 3 at Weeks 12, 24, and 52 were achieved by 69, 73, and 49% of the patients, respectively. A total of 35 patients (52%) had concomitant psoriatic arthritis, and, in 24 of them, Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis Score (DAPSA) was recorded at baseline, with a mean value of 17.9 which decreased to 8.2 at Week 12 (n = 22) and to 3.6 at Week 24 (n = 18). Certolizumab treatment was discontinued in 14 out of 67 patients (21%), due to lack/loss of cutaneous or articular effectiveness (n = 11) or patient decision (n = 2) or adverse event in only one patient who developed active tuberculosis. A lower baseline PASI [hazard ratio (HR): 1.12 (1.02-1.23); P = 0.023] and a more significant reduction in PASI at Week 12 [HR: 1.16 (1.07-1.27); P < 0.001] and Week 52 [HR: 1.47 (1.11-1.96); P = 0.007] was shown to be significantly related with better survival for the entire follow-up period. Fourteen patients were treated during pregnancy and/or lactation without reporting adverse events in either the patient or the newborn., Conclusions: Certolizumab consistently showed high effectiveness and drug survival rates in this real-life cohort. The safety demonstrated in clinical trials during pregnancy and lactation seems to be confirmed in clinical practice., (© 2024 the International Society of Dermatology.)

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Background: Safety is an important consideration in decisions on treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis and the study of drug safety is the main purpose of the BIOBADADERM registry. The combination of a biologic agent and a conventional systemic drug [generally methotrexate (MTX)] is a common treatment in clinical practice. However, there is a paucity of evidence from real-world practice on the safety of such combination regimens in the treatment of psoriasis., Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether the use of regimens combining biologic drugs with MTX in the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis increases the risk of adverse events (AEs) or serious AEs (SAEs). We compared monotherapy using tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 inhibitors with the use of the same drugs in combination with MTX., Methods: Using data from the BIOBADADERM registry, we compared biologic monotherapies with therapies that were combined with MTX. We estimated adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) using a random effects Poisson regression with 95% confidence intervals for all AEs, SAEs, infections and serious infections and other AEs by system organ class., Results: We analysed data from 2829 patients and 5441 treatment cycles, a total of 12 853 patient-years. The combination of a biologic with MTX was not associated with statistically significant increases in overall risk of AEs or SAEs in any treatment group. No increase in the total number of infections or serious infections in patients receiving combined therapy was observed for any group. However, treatment with a TNF inhibitor combined with MTX was associated with an increase in the incidence of gastrointestinal AEs (aIRR 2.50, 95% CI 1.57-3.98; P < 0.002)., Conclusions: The risk of AEs and SAEs was not significantly increased in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis receiving different classes of biologic drugs combined with MTX compared with those on biologic monotherapy., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest J.M.C. has participated as a speaker and/or advisor and/or principal investigator/senior investigator in clinical trials sponsored by for Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Leo Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, MSD, Biogen, Mylan, Amgen, AbbVie and Sandoz. A.G.-Q. acted as consultant and/or speaker for and/or participated in clinical trials as principal investigator and subinvestiator for AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, Boehringer, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Lilly, Novartis, MSD, Pfizer-Wyeth and UCB. R.R.-D. acted as consultant and/or speaker for and/or participated in clinical trials as principal investigator for AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, Boehringer, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Lilly, Novartis, MSD, Pfizer-Wyeth and UCB. A.S.-T. has served as a consultant and/or paid speaker for and/or participated in clinical trials sponsored by companies that manufacture drugs used for the treatment of psoriasis, including AbbVie, Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, LEO Pharma, Lilly, Novartis and Pfizer. M.L.-V. acted as a consultant and speaker and participated in clinical trials for Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, Boehringer, Celgene, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, UCB, Kyowa Kirin and Leo Pharma. E.H.-A. has served as consultant and/or speaker with Leo Pharma, Novartis, Janssen, Lilly, Celgene and AbbVie. P.d.l.C. acted as a consultant and/or speaker for Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, UCB, Biogen, Celgene, Amgen, Sandoz, Sanofi and Leo Pharma. O.B.-R. acted as a consultant and/or speaker for Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Celgene, Leo Pharma, Amgen, Boehringer, UCB and Almirall. L.L.-E. participated as advisory board member and received educational grants from Janssen, AbbVie, MSD, Lilly, Novartis, LeoPharma and Pfizer. I.B. acted as a consultant and/or speaker for and/or participated in clinical trials sponsored by companies that manufacture drugs used for the treatment of psoriasis, including Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Almirall SA, Lilly, AbbVie, Novartis, Celgene, Biogen Amgen, Leo Pharma, UCB, Pfizer-Wyeth and MSD. M.F. has participated as speaker and/or advisor for Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, MSD, AbbVie Celgene and Almirall. A.M. acted as consultant and/or speaker for AbbVie, Almirall, Celgene, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Lilly, Novartis. L.R. acted as a consultant and speaker for Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, Celgene and Leo Pharma. J.R.-M. acted as a consultant and/or speaker for and/or participated in clinical trials sponsored by AbbVie, Almirall, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Novartis, UCB, Pfizer, Lilly, Amgen and Boehringer Ingelheim. G.C. has been reimbursed by Janssen, AbbVie, Novartis, Pfizer, MSD and Celgene for advisory service and conference attendance. C.G.-D. participated as advisory board member for AbbVie, Almirall and speaker for Janssen, Lilly and Celgene. C.P.-M. acted as a consultant and/or speaker for Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, UCB, Celgene and Leo Pharma. E.D.A. has participated as a speaker and/or and/or PI/SI clinical trials sponsored by Amgen, Almirall, Janssen, Lilly, Leo Pharma, Novartis, UCB and AbbVie. J.A.S.-P. has served as consultant and/or speaker with Leo Pharma, Novartis, Janssen, Lilly, Celgene, AbbVie, Amgen, Sanofi, Almirall and Pfizer. D.P.R.-G. has been reimbursed by Pfizer, Janssen, Celgene, AbbVie, Novartis and LeoPharma for advisory services and conference attendance. I.G.D. received travel grants for congresses from AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer and Sanofi., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Limited information is available regarding the risk of incident liver disease in patients with psoriasis receiving systemic therapies., Objectives: To describe the liver safety findings of conventional and modern systemic therapies for moderate-to-severe psoriasis, and to compare the relative incidence rates of hepatic adverse events (AEs) for each drug., Methods: All the patients on the BIOBADADERM registry were included. Crude and adjusted incidence rate ratios (cIRR and aIRR, respectively) of hepatic AEs, using anti-TNF drugs as reference, were determined. Outcomes of interest were hypertransaminasemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NADFLD) and a group of other, less represented, hepatic AEs., Results: Our study included 3,171 patients exposed to systemic drugs (6279 treatment cycles). Incident hypertransaminasemia was the most frequent hepatic AE (incidence rate of 21 per 1000 patients-years [CI 95% 18-23]), followed by NAFLD (8 cases per 1000 patients-years [95% CI 6-10]). Methotrexate (aIRR 3.06 [2.31-4.4]; p  = 0.000) and cyclosporine (aIRR 2.37 [1.05-5.35]; p  = .0378) were associated with an increased risk for hypertransaminasemia when compared to anti-TNF-α agents. No differences were observed between different groups of biologics. Conventional therapies were not associated with new incident NAFLD., Conclusions: Comparative information of the incidence of hepatic AEs could facilitate drug selection in moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Background: Secukinumab is a first-in-class interleukin 17A monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated an excellent safety and efficacy profile in phase 3 studies., Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of secukinumab in daily clinical practice and to understand the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of patients treated with secukinumab in clinical settings., Methods: In this multicenter prospective observational study, we recruited adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis from 12 hospitals in Spain during January-December 2016. These patients were treated with secukinumab and prospectively followed at 12-week intervals for 52 weeks., Results: In total, 158 patients were recruited to the study. A Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score improvement ≥75% over baseline (PASI-75) was achieved by 57%, 83.5%, 89%, and 78.5% of patients at weeks 4, 12, 24, and 52, respectively. PASI-90 was achieved in 27.8%, 62%, 64.6%, and 63.2% of patients at weeks 4, 12, 24, and 52, respectively; PASI-75 and PASI-90 responders were significantly more common among patients with a body mass index <30 kg/cm 2 and patients without previous biologic therapy failures., Limitations: Observational study. Time from onset of psoriasis was not evaluated., Conclusion: Secukinumab is a safe treatment with effectiveness rates similar to those found in its phase 3 studies. These rates endure up to a year from start of treatment., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We present a 45 years old male with dermatomyositis refractory to eight months of standard treatment who responded to plasma exchange. The efficacy of the procedure is estimated from clinical follow-up (increase in strength) and serum creatine-kinase activity (decrease from 3,380 to 44 u/ml.) after five sessions of plasma exchange. The therapeutic indications for PE are reviewed in dermatological diseases with emphasis on cases where the response to steroids or cytotoxic drugs is inadequate.