Prevalence of Phototherapy in the Age of Biologics

The prevalence of narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) use in Europe for moderate and severe psoriasis is unknown, because national registries for psoriasis do not monitor this treatment.

To quantify the use of phototherapy, biologics or conventional treatments in psoriasis, in a setting where European Medicines Agency (EMA) eligibility criteria for biologics were strictly applied, and phototherapy was included among first-line treatments.

We followed a cohort of 1,090 patients who were referred to the only centre entitled to prescribe biologics and phototherapy during a 5-year period.

The cumulative number of treatment cycles was: 1,047 with NB-UVB phototherapy, 650 with systemic treatments and 239 with biologics; 754 patients received at least 1 course of NB-UVB phototherapy, 422 at least 1 course with a systemic treatment and 137 with a biologic; 595 patients were treated only with phototherapy.

Regular use of NB-UVB as first-line treatment for moderate and severe psoriasis and adherence to the EMA eligibility criteria for biologics led to a relatively restricted use of biologics.