WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 -- Patients with nonsegmental vitiligo have higher serum and tissue levels of CXCL9, which are reduced after 12 weeks of phototherapy, according to a study published in the September issue of SKIN.

Marwa Abdallah, M.D., from Ain Shams University in Cairo, and colleagues examined the effects of narrowband ultraviolet B (nbUVB) phototherapy on the serum and tissue levels of CXCL9 among patients with vitiligo. The study included 20 patients with nonsegmental vitiligo and 20 age- and sex-matched controls. The serum level of CXCL9 was assessed in all individuals before the study; after 12 weeks of nbUVB, the patient group was reassessed. The tissue level of CXCL9 was determined from suction blister fluid in patients before and after 12 weeks of phototherapy.

The researchers found that compared with healthy controls, patients with vitiligo had higher serum levels of CXCL9. After nbUVB treatment, serum and tissue levels of CXCL9 were reduced.

"These findings mean that measuring CXCL9 may be beneficial in determining the disease activity and may be used as a marker for the therapy results," the authors write.