Background and importance Secukinumab is an immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to interleukin 17A and inhibits its interaction with the IL-A receptor. It is indicated in psoriasis (Ps), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis in patients who do not respond adequately to conventional treatments.

Aim and objectives The aim of this study was to analyse the causes of secukinumab’s treatment discontinuation.

Material and methods A retrospective study was performed in which all patients treated with secukinumab (between 2017 and 2021) were included. Data collected: sex, age, diagnostic, previous biological treatment, start date, date of the last dispensation, date of discontinuation treatment if suspension was occurred and reason for it. We used Excel to analyse the data.

Results A total of 64 patients were included (23 diagnosed with psoriasis, 24 with psoriatic arthritis and 17 with ankylosing spondylitis). 56.3%, were women, with a median age of 54 (IQR 42–60) years. 26.5% of patients used secukinumab as the first biological drug, with a median of two previous biological drugs. The global persistence of secukinumab was 27.3 (95% CI 21.7 to 32.9) months. A total of 37 patients (57.8%) discontinued treatment with secukinumab for different reasons. Primary failure was the main cause (43.2%), followed by adverse events (27.0%) and secondary failure (24.3%). The media persistence of patients who suffered a primary failure was 5.1 months versus 21.7 months for a secondary failure. Diarrhoea represented the most prevalent of the adverse events (44%), followed by infections (33%) and other causes like astenia, fever or cefalea. Other reasons for discontinuation were other illness (5.4%), remission (2.7%) and unknown causes (2.7%).

Conclusion and relevance Secukinumab showed a moderate percentage of treatment interruption, the main cause being primary failure, followed by adverse events, with diarrohea being the most common among them. However, patients with secondary failure or who go on treatment achieve a high persistence.

References and/or acknowledgements 1. Ruiz-Villaverde R, et al. Drug survival, discontinuation rates and safety profile of secukinumab in real-world patients: a 152-week, multicenter, retrospective study. Int J Dermatol 202;59(5):633–639

Conflict of interest No conflict of interest