There’s no singular approach to treating vitiligo, according to Dr. Rebecca Vasquez, associate professor of dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Next Steps in Derm, in partnership with Skin of Color Update, interviewed Dr. Vasquez, who explains a personalized, multi-step process in vitiligo treatment. Watch as Dr. Vasquez outlines tried and true therapies that she says are still important in treatment. Learn what questions to ask when considering treatment options. Plus hear Dr. Vasquez’s perspective on new therapeutics and promising options in the pipeline.
Further Reading
If you want to read more about vitiligo, check out the following articles published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology:
ABSTRACT
Background: While the prevalence of vitiligo is similar across racial and ethnic groups, the effects of vitiligo vary by demographic group, culture, and skin color, with darker-skinned individuals facing greater stigma due to increased visibility of the disease. The recruitment of diverse participants that are representative of the United States (US) population is crucial to ensuring the generalizability of findings and understanding the impacts of vitiligo across diverse patient groups.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine demographic reporting trends in US vitiligo clinical trials and to determine whether participants are representative of the US population.
Methods: A search for US vitiligo clinical trials was conducted on clinicaltrials.gov. Trials conducted between 2006 to September 5, 2023, were included if they intended to treat vitiligo, were conducted in the US, and were completed or terminated.
Results: Of the 15 trials meeting inclusion criteria, only 60% (n=9) reported participant race/ethnicity. These 9 studies included 1,510 participants, of which only 25.43% (n=384) were non-White and 20.40% were Hispanic. There was disproportionately low representation of racial minorities, particularly Black, Native American, and Native Hawaiian groups.
Limitations: Limitations of our study include small sample size, variations in demographic reporting between trials, and undercounting of minority groups by the US Census.
Conclusions: Racial and ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in US vitiligo clinical trials. Given that the impact of vitiligo can vary by the affected individual’s demographic group and skin color, investigators must be intentional about including a more diverse and representative population in vitiligo clinical trials.
A Review on the Use of Topical Ruxolitinib for the Treatment of Vitiligo
ABSTRACT
Background: This article describes the clinical trial, safety, and efficacy of ruxolitinib 1.5% cream or repigmentation in patients with vitiligo.
Data Sources: A systematic review was done using ruxolitinib or Opzelura in MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE. ClinicalTrials.gov was used to identify ongoing or unpublished studies.
Study Selection and Data Extraction: Studies included were written in English and relevant to pharmacology, clinical trials, safety, and efficacy.
Data Synthesis: In two 52-week phase 3 trials, 52.0% of subjects had at least 75% improvement in their Facial Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (F-VASI).
Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: Ruxolitinib is a topical Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor newly approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for repigmentation in patients with vitiligo.
Conclusion: Topical ruxolitinib is the first medication approved for repigmentation in patients with vitiligo. It is a safe and effective treatment; however, cost may be a barrier to some patients when prescribing this medication. Trials to compare the efficacy and side effect profile of topical ruxolitinib with other topical treatments are still needed.
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