Adalimumab for treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis of the hands and feet: efficacy and safety results from REACH, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy, safety, and sustainability of response to adalimumab therapy for moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis involving hands and/or feet.

DESIGN: Sixteen-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of adalimumab therapy for moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis involving the hands and/or feet with a 12-week open-label extension (Randomized Controlled Evaluation of Adalimumab in Treatment of Chronic Plaque Psoriasis of the Hands and Feet [REACH]).

SETTING: Multicenter outpatient study in the United States and Canada.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis on the hands and/or feet with a Physician's Global Assessment of hands and/or feet (hfPGA) score of "moderate" or above.

INTERVENTION: Patients were randomized 2:1 to adalimumab (80 mg at week 0, then 40 mg every other week starting at week 1) or to matching placebo.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Percentage of patients achieving an hfPGA score of "clear" or "almost clear" at week 16.

RESULTS: Seventy-two patients (adalimumab [n = 49];placebo [n = 23]) were evaluated. Baseline percentages of patients with moderate and severe hfPGA scores were 76% and 24%, respectively, for the adalimumab group and 74% and 26%, respectively, for the placebo group. At week 16, 31% and 4% of patients randomized to adalimumab and placebo, respectively, achieved an hfPGA score of clear or almost clear (P = .01). At week 28, 80% of the hfPGA clear or almost clear response was maintained from week 16 (25% for patients randomized to adalimumab). Adverse events in both groups were generally mild to moderate. In both periods combined, nasopharyngitis (27% and 13% for adalimumab- and placebo-treated patients, respectively) was most frequently reported.

CONCLUSION: Adalimumab is efficacious and well tolerated for treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis of hands and/or feet, with efficacy largely maintained to 28 weeks. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00735787.