Is Apremilast a Safe Option in Patients with History of Melanoma? A Case Series and a Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND

Recently it has been reported that apremilast might promote melanogenesis and it would therefore not be safe to use this drug in patients with psoriasis who have a history of melanoma.

METHODS

From January 2017 to December 2020, we retrospectively identified, within a cohort of 635 patients in follow-up care for melanoma, 16 cases of patients with psoriasis treated with apremilast and history of melanoma. Patients were monitored at our unit for a mean duration of 36 months of follow up.

RESULTS

The use of apremilast, in our case series was, thus, effective in managing psoriasis without causing recurrence of previous melanoma or any new suspicious lesions which would need removal.

DISCUSSION

It has been speculated that apremilast might not be safe in patients who have a history of melanoma as it would be involved in the stimulation of melanogenesis and consequent possibility of recurrence of previous melanoma.

CONCLUSION

Our data show that none of the patients treated with apremilast developed recurrence of melanoma at 36 months of follow-up. Further studies are necessary to confirm the safety of apremilast in a larger number of patients with concurrent malignancies, specifically melanoma, and for a longer follow-up period.