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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Published on: July 11, 2013
Topical becocalcidiol for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind,
Y R Helfrich1, S Kang, T A Hamilton
1Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0314, USA. yolanda@med.umich.edu
Background:
Becocalcidiol is a vitamin D(3) analogue which has not caused hypercalcaemia or significant irritation in preclinical trials.
Objectives:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of two dosing regimens of becocalcidiol ointment (low dose = 75 microg g(-1) once daily for 8 weeks; high dose = 75 microg g(-1) twice daily for 8 weeks) in the treatment of plaque-type psoriasis.
Methods:
One hundred and eighty-five subjects with chronic plaque-type psoriasis affecting 2-10% of their body surface area took part in a multicentre, double-blind, parallel-group, vehicle-controlled, randomized controlled trial comparing topical application of placebo, becocalcidiol 75 microg g(-1) once daily (low dose) or becocalcidiol twice daily (high dose) for 8 weeks. Main outcomes included Physician's Static Global Assessment of Overall Lesion Severity (PGA) score; Psoriasis Symptom Severity (PSS) score; adverse events; and laboratory assessment.
Results:
In the intent-to-treat population at week 8, high-dose becocalcidiol was statistically superior to vehicle [P = 0.002; 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.7-32.2], with 16 of 61 (26%) subjects achieving a PGA score of clear or almost clear. Greater improvement in PSS score was seen with high-dose becocalcidiol than with vehicle, but this result did not quite achieve statistical significance (P = 0.052; 95% CI -16.2 to 0.1). In all groups, therapy was safe and well tolerated, with fewer subjects experiencing irritation than is reported in studies using calcipotriol.
Conclusions:
Treatment with high-dose topical becocalcidiol for 8 weeks led to almost or complete clearing of moderate plaque-type psoriasis in over a quarter of patients. Therapy was safe and well tolerated.
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