Effectiveness of Dupilumab and Omalizumab in Bullous Pemphigoid: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune blistering skin disease worldwide. In the difficult-to-treat BP or if standard therapies are contraindicated, the use of biologics may be also considered although there is no strong evidence supporting their use. This study aimed to investigate clinical and diagnostic findings as well as treatment outcomes among patients diagnosed with BP and undergoing omalizumab or dupilumab in a real-world setting. A multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed across 15 Italian tertiary referral hospital. Medical records of 2435 BP patients were screened, identifying 58 (2.3%) Caucasian patients who met the inclusion criteria. Within this study population, 39 (67.2%) were treated with dupilumab and 19 (32.8%) received omalizumab. Disease control was achieved in 90.6% of dupilumab-treated patients and complete remission on minimal therapy was observed in 71.0%. Omalizumab-treated patients achieved disease control in 77.8% of cases and 64.7% obtained complete remission on minimal therapy. Log-rank test comparing relapse rate between treatment groups was not significant (p = 0.58). Finally, parameter estimates associated with the fixed effect of time were consistently negative, indicating a generally significant (p = < 0.05) decrease in scores over time for patients treated with both biologics. This cohort of patients undergoing dupilumab or omalizumab adds to the existing evidence concerning the effectiveness of biologic agents in BP. Both biologics seem to be promising treatment adjuvants in the management of BP, with dupilumab showing a descriptive trend toward better outcomes.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The Journal of Dermatology
Published
2025-04-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1346-8138.17742
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Autoimmune Bullous Skin Diseases
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.94
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Effectiveness of Dupilumab and Omalizumab in Bullous Pemphigoid: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

Pamela Vezzoli, Carlo Alberto Maronese, Simone Ribero, Angelo Valerio Marzano et al.
2 citations
The Journal of Dermatology
Autoimmune Bullous Skin Diseases
2.94
article

Effectiveness of Dupilumab and Omalizumab in Bullous Pemphigoid: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

Pamela Vezzoli, Carlo Alberto Maronese, Simone Ribero, Angelo Valerio Marzano, Maria Esposito, Luigi Gargiulo, Emanuele Cozzani, Rosanna Satta, Elisabetta Manni, Bianca Maria Piraccini, Alessia Provini, Anna Campanati, Emiliano Antiga, Marzia Caproni, Simona Muratori, Camilla Vassallo, Gianluca Avallone, Vincenzo Maione, Maria Concetta Fargnoli, Piergiacomo Calzavara‐Pinton, Federico Bardazzi, Pietro Quaglino, Riccardo Balestri, Martina Zussino, Paolo Sena, Clara De Simone, Caterina Foti, Marco Romanelli, Silvia Mariel Ferrucci, Giovanni Di Zenzo, Luca Valtellini, Giulia Rech, Davide Termini
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune blistering skin disease worldwide. In the difficult-to-treat BP or if standard therapies are contraindicated, the use of biologics may be also considered although there is no strong evidence supporting their use. This study aimed to investigate clinical and diagnostic findings as well as treatment outcomes among patients diagnosed with BP and undergoing omalizumab or dupilumab in a real-world setting. A multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed across 15 Italian tertiary referral hospital. Medical records of 2435 BP patients were screened, identifying 58 (2.3%) Caucasian patients who met the inclusion criteria. Within this study population, 39 (67.2%) were treated with dupilumab and 19 (32.8%) received omalizumab. Disease control was achieved in 90.6% of dupilumab-treated patients and complete remission on minimal therapy was observed in 71.0%. Omalizumab-treated patients achieved disease control in 77.8% of cases and 64.7% obtained complete remission on minimal therapy. Log-rank test comparing relapse rate between treatment groups was not significant (p = 0.58). Finally, parameter estimates associated with the fixed effect of time were consistently negative, indicating a generally significant (p = < 0.05) decrease in scores over time for patients treated with both biologics. This cohort of patients undergoing dupilumab or omalizumab adds to the existing evidence concerning the effectiveness of biologic agents in BP. Both biologics seem to be promising treatment adjuvants in the management of BP, with dupilumab showing a descriptive trend toward better outcomes.

The Journal of DermatologyVol. 52(6)
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT), University of Pisa (IT), Marche Polytechnic University (IT), Humanitas University (IT), University of Sassari (IT), University of Milan (IT), University of L'Aquila (IT), Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic (IT), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (IT), Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale degli Spedali Civili di Brescia (IT), Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII (IT), Azienda USL di Bologna (IT), Policlinico San Matteo Fondazione (IT), Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT), Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology (IT), IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital (IT), University of Florence (IT), University of Turin (IT), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), University of Brescia (IT), University of Genoa (IT), University of Bologna (IT)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Autoimmune Bullous Skin Diseases
2.94
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.