LEO Pharma Presents Prevalence, Severity, and Treatment CHECK Data for Chronic Hand Eczema

LEO Pharma announced today that it has presented new data on the prevalence, severity, and treatment of chronic hand eczema at the European Society of Contact Dermatitis Congress in Dresden, Germany, this week.¹

In total, 4 posters were presented related to the multinational Chronic Hand Eczema epidemiology, Care, and Knowledge of real-life burden, or CHECK, study. Additionally, 1 poster and 3 encore posters were presented related to the Real-World trEatment & mAnagement of chronic hand eczema in cLinical practice, or RWEAL, study involving physician-reported outcomes.

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The CHECK study involved more than 60,000 adult participants from Canada and several European nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The subsequent RWEAL study validated the findings of the CHECK study, with nearly 300 physicians (n=292) and a medical chart review of almost 2,000 (n=1,939) patients, all of whom were from the same nations as described in the CHECK study.

Among the posters related to the CHECK study, researchers reported a total of 5.6% of study participants self-reporting chronic hand eczema within the past year, and a total of 4.7% of participants reporting a physician diagnosis within the same time frame.²

Furthermore, an estimated 1 in 5 patients reported an attribution of their condition to their occupation, with 1 in 3 individuals attributing their chronic hand eczema to household or leisure activities.³ Among patients whose chronic hand eczema had been diagnosed with a physician, researchers noted persistent symptoms regardless of ongoing treatment or therapy.

RWEAL data further supported these findings, with 1 in 4 patients with moderate to severe chronic hand eczema reporting progression from topical corticosteroid use to phototherapy or systemic modalities.⁴

Recent research into perceptions of topical corticosteroids has pointed toward an underlying fear or phobia of corticosteroid use among patients with chronic hand eczema. The research, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, reported a notable percentage of patients believing these medications enter the bloodstream and damage the skin. Concerns about long-term health effects were common, particularly among those with severe conditions.⁵

"It is a privilege to present the results from the largest real-world studies LEO Pharma has ever completed," said Kreesten Meldgaard Madsen, chief development officer of LEO Pharma, in a news release.¹

"Our findings from the CHECK study are supported by the physician-reported outcomes of the RWEAL study and for the first time at this scale, the data from both studies can show the needs among people living with this debilitating disease, and the immense impact it can have on quality of life."

The CHECK and RWEAL study findings add to the body of research describing unmet needs in chronic hand eczema treatment, with researchers describing their influence.

"The heavy burden of chronic hand eczema is well understood but prevalence has been historically understudied in the general population," said Sonja Molin, MD, chair of the Division of Dermatology at Queen’s University and lead study author.¹ "Large-scale, multinational studies like CHECK provide powerful insights to help us better understand this debilitating disease."

References

1. LEO Pharma presents data from the largest-ever multinational real-world studies of chronic hand eczema (CHE) in adults at the ESCD 2024 Congress. News release. LEO Pharma. September 5, 2024. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.leo-pharma.com/media-center/news/2024-leo-pharma-presents-data-from-the-largest-ever-multinational-real-world-studies
2. Apfelbacher C, Bewley A, Molin S, et al. Prevalence of Chronic Hand Eczema in adults: A cross-sectional multi-national study of 60,000 respondents in the general population. Presented at the 2024 European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) congress; September 04-07 2024; Dresden, Germany. Poster presentation #3
3. Crepy MN, Molin S, Gimenez-Arnau AM, et al. Exploring the relationship between Chronic Hand Eczema occupation, and household/leisure activities. Presented at the 2024 European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) congress; September 04-07 2024; Dresden, Germany. Poster presentation #19
4. Gimenez-Arnau AM, Bewley A, Apfelbacher C, et al. Physician-reported treatment patterns in Chronic Hand Eczema – results from the multinational RWEAL medical chart review. Presented at the 2024 European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) congress; September 04-07 2024; Dresden, Germany. Poster presentation #27
5. Christensen MO, Sieborg J, Nymand LK, et al. Prevalence and clinical impact of topical corticosteroid phobia among patients with chronic hand eczema – findings from the Danish skin cohort. JAAD. August 2024. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2024.07.1503