Biologic Drugs Combined with Ultraviolet Phototherapy Viable in Severe Psoriasis

A review on the combination of biologic and narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) phototherapy was found to be safe and viable for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, in a study published by Dove Medical Press.

Researchers conducted an extensive PubMed search for studies that evaluated the safety and efficacy of this combination therapy. The results of the analysis showed that in total, 9 out of 10 studies demonstrated favorable safety and efficacy in combining biologic and phototherapy.

The findings were especially significant, because it is common for subsets of patients do not respond adequately to non-biologic therapy.

“Although no regimen involving the combination of a biologic agent and phototherapy has been approved for the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, combination therapy appears to be a viable clinical strategy, especially for psoriasis unresponsive to monotherapy,” said lead study author Benjamin Farahnik. “NBUVB in combination with biologics appears to be especially effective.

“Skillfully combining biologic agents with non-biologic treatments broadens the armamentum for the long-term control of psoriasis without much increase in risks. Nevertheless, further studies are required to assess the long-term safety and efficacy of such combinations.”