Multicentre, prospective, observational clinical registry of paediatric and adult patients with vitiligo on phototherapy, or novel topical or systemic immunomodulatory therapies.

Abstract

Vitiligo is the most common depigmentation disorder, affecting around 1% of the population worldwide. Currently, no national or international registry for patients with vitiligo exists. Individual dermatologists maintain descriptive databases of such patients, which involve patients in one centre. However, such single-centre registries do not aim to establish the short- and long-term safety (pharmacovigilance) and effectiveness of vitiligo therapies. As an initial step for the development of a national UK registry for patients with vitiligo, development of a pilot multicentre registry in the UK is needed. This pilot study is being developed in collaboration with the British Association of Dermatologists. VIRTUAL-UK (VItiligo RegisTry for adUlts And chiLdren) assesses treatment effectiveness and safety as well as treatment impact on quality of life. The registry includes children and adults with vitiligo who receive phototherapy or novel topical and/or systemic immunomodulatory therapies. The VIRTUAL-UK registry will ultimately (i) inform treatment guidelines, (ii) provide pharmacogenetic and pharmacodynamic research data, (iii) help answer questions on skin cancer risk for patients with vitiligo who receive prolonged phototherapy courses, especially regarding high cumulative exposures in children with less deeply pigmented skin, and (iv) help to identify those patients likely to experience rapid disease progression. As a result, this registry will ultimately improve and personalize patient care. With novel topical and oral immunomodulatory therapies having just entered vitiligo clinical practice, the timing is ideal to harness the high-quality data collection offered by the UK National Health Service.