generalizable to patients with mild acne. Moreover, since <10% of participants had an EGSS rating of “severe” at baseline, results from the EGSS score=4 subgroup should be interpreted with some caution.
CONCLUSION
Data pooled from two phase 3 studies indicate that patients
with moderate-to-severe acne experienced quality-of-life improvements
after 12 weeks of treatment with tazarotene 0.045%
lotion. Acne-QoL outcomes appeared to be less affected by clinician-
rated acne severity than by participants’ own assessments
of their quality of life, which tended to be worse in female and
Black participants. However, the subgroup with worse quality
of life at baseline also had the largest mean Acne-QoL improvements,
highlighting the importance of asking patients how acne
affects their everyday lives.
DISCLOSURES
Leon Kircik, Edward Lain, and Michael Gold have all acted
as investigator, advisor, speaker, and consultant for Ortho
Dermatologics. Bruce Katz has nothing to disclose. Hilary
Baldwin has served as an advisor, investigator, and on speakers’
bureaus for Almiral, Cassiopea, Foamix, Galderma, Ortho
Dermatologics, Sol Gel, and Sun Pharmaceuticals. Eric Guenin
is an employee of Ortho Dermatologics and may hold stock
and/or stock options in its parent company. Anya Loncaric and
Radhakrishnan Pillai are employees of Bausch Health US, LLC
and may hold stock and/or stock options in its parent company.
REFERENCES
1. Leyden J, Stein-Gold L, Weiss J. Why topical retinoids are mainstay of therapy for acne. Dermatol Ther. 2017;7(3):293-304.
2. Bhate K, Williams HC. Epidemiology of acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol. 2013;168(3):474-485.
3. ARAZLOTM (tazarotene) lotion. Prescribing information. Bridgewater, NJ: Bausch Health US, LLC; December 2019.
4. Tanghetti EA, Stein Gold L, Del Rosso JQ, et al. Optimized formulation for topical application of a fixed combination halobetasol/tazarotene lotion using polymeric emulsion technology. J Dermatolog Treat. 2019:1-8.
5. Tanghetti EA, Kircik LH, Green LJ, et al. A phase 2, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, vehicle-controlled clinical study to compare the safety and efficacy of a novel tazarotene 0.045% lotion and tazarotene 0.1% cream in the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(6):542.
6. Tanghetti EA, Werschler WP, Lain T, et al. Tazarotene 0.045% lotion for oncedaily treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris: results from two phase 3 trials. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(1):70-77.
7. Martin AR, Lookingbill DP, Botek A, et al. Health-related quality of life among patients with facial acne -- assessment of a new acne-specific questionnaire. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2001;26(5):380-385.
8. Altunay IK, Ozkur E, Dalgard FJ, et al. Psychosocial aspects of adult acne: data from 13 European countries. Acta Derm Venereol. 2020;100(4):adv00051.
9. Nguyen CM, Beroukhim K, Danesh MJ, et al. The psychosocial impact of acne, vitiligo, and psoriasis: a review. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2016;9:383-392.
10. Tanghetti EA, Werschler WP, Lain E, et al. Novel polymeric lotion formulation of once-daily tazarotene (0.045%) for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(3):272-279.
11. Lain E, Day D, Harper J, Guenin E. Tretinoin 0.05% lotion for the once-daily treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris: impact of gender and race on efficacy and safety. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(11):1128-1138.
12. Nagpal N, Gordon-Elliott J, Lipner S. Comparison of quality of life and illness perception among patients with acne, eczema, and psoriasis. Dermatol Online J. 2019;25(5).
13. Skroza N, Tolino E, Proietti I, et al. Women and acne: any difference from males? A review of the literature. G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2016;151(1):87- 92.
14. Kircik LH, Stein Gold L, Beer K, et al. Once-daily polymeric tazarotene 0.045% lotion for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis by sex. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(8):777-783.
15. Bhatia N, Weiss JS, Sadick N, et al. Novel polymeric tazarotene 0.045% lotion for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis by race/ethnicity. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(7):727-734.
2. Bhate K, Williams HC. Epidemiology of acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol. 2013;168(3):474-485.
3. ARAZLOTM (tazarotene) lotion. Prescribing information. Bridgewater, NJ: Bausch Health US, LLC; December 2019.
4. Tanghetti EA, Stein Gold L, Del Rosso JQ, et al. Optimized formulation for topical application of a fixed combination halobetasol/tazarotene lotion using polymeric emulsion technology. J Dermatolog Treat. 2019:1-8.
5. Tanghetti EA, Kircik LH, Green LJ, et al. A phase 2, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, vehicle-controlled clinical study to compare the safety and efficacy of a novel tazarotene 0.045% lotion and tazarotene 0.1% cream in the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(6):542.
6. Tanghetti EA, Werschler WP, Lain T, et al. Tazarotene 0.045% lotion for oncedaily treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris: results from two phase 3 trials. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(1):70-77.
7. Martin AR, Lookingbill DP, Botek A, et al. Health-related quality of life among patients with facial acne -- assessment of a new acne-specific questionnaire. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2001;26(5):380-385.
8. Altunay IK, Ozkur E, Dalgard FJ, et al. Psychosocial aspects of adult acne: data from 13 European countries. Acta Derm Venereol. 2020;100(4):adv00051.
9. Nguyen CM, Beroukhim K, Danesh MJ, et al. The psychosocial impact of acne, vitiligo, and psoriasis: a review. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2016;9:383-392.
10. Tanghetti EA, Werschler WP, Lain E, et al. Novel polymeric lotion formulation of once-daily tazarotene (0.045%) for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(3):272-279.
11. Lain E, Day D, Harper J, Guenin E. Tretinoin 0.05% lotion for the once-daily treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris: impact of gender and race on efficacy and safety. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(11):1128-1138.
12. Nagpal N, Gordon-Elliott J, Lipner S. Comparison of quality of life and illness perception among patients with acne, eczema, and psoriasis. Dermatol Online J. 2019;25(5).
13. Skroza N, Tolino E, Proietti I, et al. Women and acne: any difference from males? A review of the literature. G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2016;151(1):87- 92.
14. Kircik LH, Stein Gold L, Beer K, et al. Once-daily polymeric tazarotene 0.045% lotion for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis by sex. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(8):777-783.
15. Bhatia N, Weiss JS, Sadick N, et al. Novel polymeric tazarotene 0.045% lotion for moderate-to-severe acne: pooled phase 3 analysis by race/ethnicity. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(7):727-734.
AUTHOR CORRESPONDENCE
Leon H. Kircik MD wedoderm@yahoo.com
