Reduction of impairment of sexual activity in patients with genital psoriasis treated with risankizumab: interim results of a real-world study

Psoriasis involving the genital region (GenPsO) is associated with impaired quality of life (QoL), including sexual burden and avoidance of sexual intercourse. There is limited data on the effectiveness of risankizumab in GenPsO on patients' QoL and sexual impairment. GPS-Best, a nested cohort non-interventional study within the German Psoriasis registry PsoBest, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of risankizumab in GenPsO and its impact on QoL and sexual impairment. This interim analysis involves 52 patients who completed week 16 of the 52-week GPS-Best study. Patient questionnaires, including the Genital Psoriasis Symptoms Scale (GPSS) and Genital Psoriasis Sexual Impact Scale (GPSIS), were evaluated in patients with plaque psoriasis and a static physician's global assessment of genitalia ≥ 3 at baseline. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the GPSS total score from a median [IQR] of 42.0 [36.0-57.0] at baseline to 3.0 [0-9.0] at week 16 (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In the GPSIS avoidance and impact subscale, more patients reported 'never' avoiding sexual activity at week 16 compared to baseline (46.8% vs. 10.5%) and 78.9% reported 'no or very low' impact compared to 18.5% at baseline, respectively. These findings indicate risankizumab significantly reduces patient-reported GenPsO symptoms over a 16-week period and increases sexual QoL.