Psoriasis Treatments/Psoriasis Treatments

Study: 44% Avoided Psoriasis Relapse for a Year After Stopping Secukinumab

Written by Ted Samson

Posted on September 22, 2026

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In a follow-up analysis of adults with new-onset moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, some people maintained improvement for a year after stopping secukinumab and receiving no further study treatment.

Initially, 77 participants received secukinumab, with 72 completing the full 52 weeks. Those whose psoriasis improved by at least 50 percent were then taken off study treatment and followed for another year.

Of the 66 people who entered this treatment-free follow-up, 44 percent didn’t meet the study’s definition of relapse. That meant they maintained more than half of the maximum improvement they achieved during treatment.

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The finding suggests that some people treated early in the course of psoriasis may maintain benefits for a time after treatment ends. However, the study doesn’t show that people should stop psoriasis treatment. It also doesn’t prove that early treatment permanently changes the course of psoriasis.

What Is Secukinumab?

Secukinumab (Cosentyx) is an interleukin inhibitor, a type of biologic that targets a protein involved in inflammation called interleukin (IL)-17A. By blocking the protein, the drug reduces inflammatory signals that contribute to psoriasis.

Secukinumab isn’t the only biologic that targets the IL-17 pathway. Other biologic treatments for psoriasis target IL-17, IL-23, or related immune signals.

What Did the Study Find?

The STEPIn study included adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis that had developed within the previous year. None had previously received systemic psoriasis treatment or phototherapy.

During the first 52 weeks, researchers compared secukinumab with narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy.

At week 52, participants whose Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores had improved by at least 50 percent with either treatment stopped receiving the study treatment. Researchers followed them for another year to track disease activity and determine whether they relapsed.

The researchers defined a relapse as losing half of the maximum PASI improvement a person had achieved after treatment stopped. This means someone could lose some of their improvement without being counted as having relapsed.

Among the 77 people who started secukinumab:

72 people, or 93.5 percent, completed the first 52 weeks.
66 improved enough to enter the treatment-free follow-up.
29 of those 66 people, or 44 percent, didn’t meet the relapse criteria during the following year.
16 of the original 77 people, or 20.8 percent, still had a PASI 90 response at week 104.

Among those who did relapse, the average time to relapse was about 32 weeks after stopping treatment.

What About the Phototherapy Group?

The phototherapy group was also followed after treatment stopped, but the researchers did not make a direct comparison with the secukinumab group during this period. Nearly 41 percent of the phototherapy group had dropped out during the first 52 weeks, due to what researchers said was “lack of efficacy or other reasons.”

This left a smaller, more selective group for follow-up. The researchers said this could bias the results.

Why This Matters for People With Psoriasis

Researchers are interested in whether treating psoriasis earlier could affect how the disease behaves later. In this study, some people with recently developed psoriasis maintained substantial improvement for a year after stopping secukinumab.

The researchers said the findings raise the possibility that early treatment could affect the longer-term course of psoriasis. But that remains a hypothesis.

This study cannot establish that secukinumab permanently modifies psoriasis. Researchers said more work is needed to understand why some people remained relapse-free while others did not.

If you’re living with psoriasis, talk with your dermatologist about your treatment goals, how well your current treatment is working, and any questions you have about how long to continue it. Don’t stop or change psoriasis treatment without medical guidance.

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