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Gemma Camiña-Conforto, Laura Mateu-Arrom, Anna López-Ferrer, Lluís Puig Department of Dermatology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, SpainCorrespondence: Gemma Camiña-Conforto, Department of Dermatology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Mas Casanovas 90, Bloque A, 5a planta (secretaria Dermatología), Barcelona, 08041, Spain, Tel +34 93 553 7007, Fax +34 93 553 7008, Email gcamina@santpau.catAbstract: Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that significatively impairs patients’ quality of life. Biological treatments are highly effective and safe and have led to breakthroughs in the management of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. However, therapeutic response can be unsatisfactory or lost with time, leading to discontinuation of treatment. Bimekizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that specifically inhibits both interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F. The efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis has been demonstrated in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials. Bimekizumab may offer some advantages over other biological treatments, making it especially indicated for certain patients. This narrative review aims to summarize the latest published evidence on the use of bimekizumab for the treatment of moderate-severe plaque psoriasis, focusing on patient selection and therapeutic perspectives. Bimekizumab has been shown to be more efficacious than adalimumab, secukinumab and ustekinumab in clinical trials, with high estimated probabilities of achieving complete (approximately 60%) or almost complete clearance (approximately 85%) of psoriasis at weeks 10– 16, and a good safety profile. Response to bimekizumab is usually fast and maintained in the long term for both biologic-naive patients and those resistant to previous biologic treatments. The usual maintenance dose of 320 mg every 8 weeks makes bimekizumab especially convenient for non-compliant patients. Moreover, the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab have also been demonstrated in psoriasis affecting challenging-to-treat areas, psoriatic arthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa. In conclusion, dual inhibition of IL-17A and IL-17F with bimekizumab is a good therapeutic option for moderate-to-severe psoriasis.Keywords: psoriasis, bimekizumab, patient selection, interleukin-17, patient compliance, biological therapy

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest None disclosed.

Introduction: There is a complex interplay between psoriasis and cancer, with therapeutic implications. Patients with psoriasis have an increased risk of developing several types of cancer, and safety concerns have arisen regarding biologic therapies and cancer. On the other hand, biologics can provide adequate control of psoriasis that appears or worsens as an immune-related adverse event following immune enhancing checkpoint inhibitor therapy for cancer, thus allowing prosecution of oncologic treatment without impairing its efficacy., Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis under biological treatment and cancer who were treated at our Department between January 2009 and June 2022., Results: We included 31 adult patients with psoriasis and cancer; in 16 the diagnosis of cancer preceded the inception of biological treatment, and 9 of those patients were in remission. Most malignancies arose in the genitourinary system, followed by breast, hematologic, colorectal, thyroid, and others. Anti-IL23p19 biologics were most frequently used (36%), followed by anti-TNF (32%), anti-IL-17 (16%) and anti-IL-12/23 (16%) agents. All patients showed improvement of psoriasis after biologic initiation., Conclusions: Biologic treatment for moderate-severe psoriasis should be considered in oncologic patients since it is not formally contraindicated and is safe. Moreover, the efficacy and safety profile of IL-23 and IL-17 inhibitors may be advantageous for those patients.