Baricitinib for the treatment of cutaneous dermatomyositis: A prospective, open-label study

To the Editor: The unmet need for skin disease control poses a clinical challenge in dermatomyositis (DM). Conventional therapies, such as glucocorticoids and nonspecific immunosuppressants, are limited by the potential side effects and delayed onset of action. 1 Anyanwu C.O. Chansky P.B. Feng R. et al. The systemic management of cutaneous dermatomyositis: results of a stepwise strategy. Int J Women's Dermatol. 2017; 3: 189-194 Crossref PubMed Scopus (29) Google Scholar Mechanism-based treatments targeting the Janus kinase (JAK)–signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway have exhibited efficacy in DM patients. 2 Min M.S. Alsarheed A. Kassamali B. et al. Tofacitinib as treatment for refractory dermatomyositis: a retrospective study from 2 academic medical centers. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2022; 86: 423-425 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar ,3 Paik J.J. Casciola-Rosen L. Shin J.Y. et al. Study of tofacitinib in refractory dermatomyositis: an open-label pilot study of ten patients. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021; 73: 858-865 Crossref PubMed Scopus (74) Google Scholar However, there is a dearth of research investigating the efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors in treating skin-predominant DM. We performed an open-label, single-arm study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib (a JAK1/2 inhibitor) in treating cutaneous DM.