Biologic-Naïve Patients with Psoriasis Have a Reduced Risk of Psoriatic Arthritis, Based on NPF Target Goals

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At the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, a poster from AbbVie showed that patients with psoriasis who are new to biologic therapy may have a reduced risk of psoriatic arthritis after reaching treatment goals established by the National Psoriasis Foundation.¹ The real-world study was conducted using data from the CorEvitas Psoriasis Registry.

Background

Nearly 40% of patients with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis. Additionally, it has been proven that a greater disease severity of psoriasis is linked to a higher risk of psoriatic arthritis. The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) has outlined several acceptable and target treatment goals for patients. A Body Surface Area of ≤1 is the target response. Other acceptable measures include a Body Surface Area of ≤3% or ≥75% improvement from baseline. The study observed the incidence of psoriatic arthritis based on the achievement of these goals with biologic-naïve patients being treated for psoriasis.

Methods and Materials

Participants with a baseline Body Surface Area of >3% beginning their first biologic therapy were included in the trial. All had no history of psoriatic arthritis and were identified through the CorEvitas Psoriasis Registry. Investigators evaluated success based on the NPF treatment goals 3 to 15 months after the biologics were initiated. Incident psoriatic arthritis according to the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST) or rheumatological/dermatological diagnosis was measured up to 5 years after assessing NPF treatment goals. Additionally, incidence rates per 100 person-years (PY) were calculated among all participants. The Kaplan-Meier approach was also used to estimate the probability of remaining PsA-free over 5 years with censoring for loss of follow-up.

Results

A total of 1,352 patients were included in the study. Over 40% of the participants were female. The mean age was 47.8 years while the mean Body Surface Area was 17.6%. Out of the 1,352 patients who were able to be analyzed based on the NPF conditions, the incidence rate of psoriatic arthritis was 7.12 cases/100 PY (95%CI: 6.23-8.14). Of these, 70.9% met the target goal (n = 958).

Overall, the psoriatic arthritis incidence rate was lower (6.46/100 PY, 95%CI: 5.47-7.62) than those who did not meet the target (8.82/100 PY, 95%CI: 7.04-11.07). Patients achieving the NPF Target Goal within 3-15 months of starting their first biologic therapy for PsO were 27% less likely to develop PsA during the 5-year follow-up compared to those who did not meet the NPF Target Goal (HR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55-0.96).

Conclusion

With these findings, it can be inferred that with the initial use of biologic therapy, those who achieved the psoriasis NPF target goal could have a reduced risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.

Reference

1. Strober B, Patel M, Bialik B, et al. Incidence of Psoriatic Arthritis in Biologic-Naïve Psoriasis Patients Achieving National Psoriasis Foundation’s Treat to Target Goals: A Real-World Study With the CorEvitasPsoriasis Registry. Poster presented at the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida. March 7 to 11, 2025.