The use of tazarotene 0.045% lotion may improve hyperpigmentation for Black patients with moderate-to-severe acne, according to a report from Dermatology Times summarizing a poster presented at the 2023 Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA) Annual Summer Dermatology Conference. In a post hoc analysis (based on racial identity) of two identical phase III trials, investigators sought to evaluate the safety of tazarotene 0.045% lotion when used in Black patients with acne. Researchers recruited pediatric patients as young as 9 years of age, as well as adult patients. Among the participants of both trials (n = 1,614), 16% identified as Black. Investigators explained that all patients had moderate-to-severe cases of acne as described by the Evaluator’s Global Severity Score (EGSS) and were randomly assigned to a once-daily application of either tazarotene 0.045% lotion or a vehicle-control lotion for a 12-week period.
Investigators found that tazarotene 0.045% was both safe and well tolerated among patients. In the vehicle treatment group, hyperpigmentation was present in 37.9% of Black patients at baseline and had decreased to 37.2% at conclusion of the trials. For Black patients in the tazarotene 0.045% group, hyperpigmentation was present in 40.5% of patients at baseline; by the conclusion of the study period, investigators reported that the hyperpigmentation rate had decreased by 9.1%, lowering to 31.4% after 12 weeks. Investigators noted that commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events among the patient population were dryness, exfoliation, and pain at the treatment site, with pain being the most common complaint in Black patients (6.6%).