Impact of Biologics Treatment on Interferon-Γ Releasing Assay in Patients with Psoriasis: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Biological therapy has established the efficacy and safety profile for psoriasis treatment. The possible development of tuberculosis is one of the important issues during treatment, so an interferon-γ releasing assay (IGRA) such as QFT or T-spot is generally used to monitor tuberculosis in daily practice. We retrospectively investigated the clinical courses of QFT or T-spot testing in 386 patients with psoriasis during biologics treatments. Of these patients, 33 cases were positive in the IGRA assay, and 7 cases showed changes from positive to negative. These results suggest that IGRA assays can be affected by biological therapy.