Decades of experience treating vitiligo with UVB therapy

BACKGROUND: From the advent of modern phototherapy to the present day, this technique has been an important tool for the treatment of various skin diseases such as psoriasis, parapsoriasis, red lichen planus, scleroderma, atopic dermatitis, lymphomas, etc. One of the common dermatologic diseases where this technique is used as a gold standard is vitiligo. Despite the existence of a wide range of therapies for this disease, phototherapy remains the standard of care because of its proven efficacy and favorable side effect profile.

AIM: Is to study the efficacy of UVB-311 nm in the treatment of vitiligo, to assess adherence to therapy, as well as to analyze the reasons for discontinuation of phototherapy in order to optimize the future results of treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 570 vitiligo sufferers who underwent UVB-311 nm phototherapy from 2013–2023. Evaluation of the therapy efficacy, its impact on the patients' quality of life, as well as analysis of the reasons for discontinuation of the UVB-311 nm course were carried out using questionnaires, visual repigmentation scale G0–G4, and comparative assessment using photofixation

RESULTS: An excellent (repigmentation >75%) response was observed in 30% of patients. In 32% of patients repigmentation was between 51% and 75%; 23% of patients responded to treatment with repigmentation between 25–50% of foci; 15% of patients completed the course of treatment due to lack of response and repigmentation less than 25% after the first 30 treatments. Only 68% of patients completed the full course of narrow-band UVB-311 nm therapy, the average number of treatments was 49.

CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated good clinical efficacy of UVB-311 nm phototherapy. However, a number of interventions are needed to optimize treatment results and improve treatment adherence.