Real-World Evidence Supports Dupilumab in Pediatric and Adult head and neck atopic dermatitis Patients: Study

Written By : Dr. Shravani Dali Published On 2026-01-01T20:00:39+05:30 | Updated On 1 Jan 2026 8:00 PM IST

Researchers have found in a new real-world study that dupilumab was an effective and safe therapeutic option for head and neck atopic dermatitis, showing consistent clinical benefits in both pediatric and adult patients with an acceptable safety profile.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease driven by type 2 inflammation, with prevalence rates of 15–25% in children and 3–7% in adults worldwide. At present, the treatment of Atopic dermatitis includes basic moisturization, topical agents, phototherapy, systemic medications, and targeted therapies. For mild Atopic dermatitis, moisturizers, topical corticosteroids, or calcineurin inhibitors are commonly used. For moderate-to-severe cases, phototherapy and conventional systemic immunosuppressants are utilized. In recent years, targeted therapies, such as dupilumab and Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitors, have revolutionized the management of moderate-to-severe Atopic dermatitis, demonstrating significant efficacy and improved safety profiles compared with traditional immunosuppressant. Head and neck atopic dermatitis (HNAD) is a clinically common subtype of Atopic dermatitis. While dupilumab is widely used in Atopic dermatitis treatment, its efficacy in Head and neck atopic dermatitis is debatable. This study aimed to evaluate the real-world efficacy and safety of dupilumab in Head and neck atopic dermatitis. A retrospective study included 29 individuals with Head and neck atopic dermatitis (17 adults and 12 pediatric patients) who were treated with dupilumab. Primary variables, including the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), Visual Analog Scale for Itch (VAS-Itch), and Visual Analog Scale for Sleep Quality (VAS-SQ), were evaluated at baseline, week 4, week 8, and week 16. Data on adverse events (AEs) were routinely collected.

Results: At week 16, all assessments demonstrated improvement. Both groups exhibited significant decreases (p < 0.05) in efficacy indicators, with the exception of children’s DLQI, which showed a decreasing trend but did not achieve statistical significance. These findings indicate that dupilumab significantly decreased the severity of the condition and improved the overall quality of life in both adults and children.

This real-world study revealed that dupilumab could be an effective and safe therapy for Head and neck atopic dermatitis patients across both children and adults.

Reference:

Li Z, Peng J, Yu R, Lin Y. Real-world efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of head and neck atopic dermatitis: a retrospective cohort study. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025 Nov 27;12:1705374. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1705374. PMID: 41393119; PMCID: PMC12695528.

Keywords:

atopic dermatitis, dupilumab, head and neck, biologics, efficacy, safety, quality of life, Li Z, Peng J, Yu R, Lin Y

Frontiers in Medicineatopic dermatitisdupilumabhead and neckbiologicsefficacysafetyquality of life

Source : Frontiers in Medicine

Dr. Shravani Dali

Dr. Shravani Dali has completed her BDS from Pravara institute of medical sciences, loni. Following which she extensively worked in the healthcare sector for 2+ years. She has been actively involved in writing blogs in field of health and wellness. Currently she is pursuing her Masters of public health-health administration from Tata institute of social sciences. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.