BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is a need for long-term atopic dermatitis (AD) treatments that can effectively improve AD involvement of the head and neck (H&N) region (referred to as H&N AD). Tralokinumab, a high-affinity monoclonal antibody that neutralizes interleukin-13, is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD. Recent real-world studies have observed the effectiveness of tralokinumab for H&N AD. Here, data from phase III parent trials, ECZTRA 1 and ECZTRA 2, and the long-term extension trial, ECZTEND, were used to assess impacts of long-term tralokinumab treatment on H&N AD and the association between improvements in H&N AD and patient quality of life, and to evaluate whether a proportion of patients developed paradoxical H&N erythema. METHODS: These post hoc analyses included data from all patients initiated on tralokinumab in ECZTRA 1 or ECZTRA 2. Patients were treated up to 4 years (i.e., up to 52 weeks in ECZTRA 1 or ECZTRA 2 plus up to 152 weeks in ECZTEND). Outcomes included body region subscores of the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI
H&N, upper limbs, trunk, lower limbs) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Correlations between H&N EASI and DLQI were assessed with Spearman's correlation coefficient (ρ). The incidence of paradoxical H&N erythema (defined as H&N EASI erythema increasing from baseline to a score of 3, while all other regional EASI subscores are 0 or 1, during two or more consecutive visits) was also assessed. RESULTS: Overall, 1192 patients who were initiated on tralokinumab in ECZTRA 1 and ECZTRA 2, of whom 523 patients opted to continue in ECZTEND, were analyzed. Percentages of patients who had H&N EASI ≤ 1 increased from 12.2% at parent trial baseline to 87.2% by week 152 of ECZTEND. Improvements in EASI subscore outcomes from parent trial baseline were comparable across body regions throughout all timepoints of the study. At parent trial week 16, H&N EASI was moderately correlated with total DLQI (ρ = 0.47), with the strongest numerical correlations observed for DLQI questions regarding skin discomfort (ρ = 0.43) and embarrassment due to skin (ρ = 0.40). During up to 4 years of treatment, seven tralokinumab-treated patients exhibited paradoxical H&N erythema, five of whom improved to absent or mild H&N EASI erythema with continued tralokinumab treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Tralokinumab provided progressive and sustained improvements in H&N AD, with H&N EASI 0/1 observed in nearly 90% of patients treated up to 4 years. Improvements in H&N EASI were similar to improvements observed for other body regions and were associated with improvements in patient quality of life, particularly for skin discomfort and self-consciousness/embarrassment due to skin. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03131648 (ECZTRA 1)
study start date: 30 May, 2017
primary completion date: 7 August, 2018
study completion date: 10 October, 2019. NCT03160885 (ECZTRA 2)
study start date: 12 June, 2017
primary completion date: 4 September, 2019
study completion date: 14 August, 2019. NCT03587805 (ECZTEND)
study start date: 18 March, 2018
data cut-off date: 30 April, 2022
primary completion date: 3 July, 2024
study completion date: 3 July, 2024.