Tofacitinib for the Treatment of Refractory Progressive Vitiligo: A Retrospective Case Series

Treatment of progressive vitiligo aims to halt the spread of the disease and facilitate repigmentation of lesions. JAK inhibitor has been shown some therapeutic effects on vitiligo, but the data for the progressive vitiligo are limited. This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral tofacitinib in 25 refractory progressive vitiligo patients who experienced failure to previous steroid treatments. 16 (64%) of the 25 patients noted stopping disease progression, and nearly half of the 16 cases halted progression within one month. 10 (40%) patients had repigmentation in varying degrees. Combination with phototherapy was a key factor affecting the rate of repigmentation. Oral tofacitinib might be a potentially effective treatment for intractable progressive vitiligo. The limitations of the study include the retrospective, single-centre study with small sample size and lack of comparison with other systemic therapies.