Tacrolimus in Dermatology

Abstract

There are case reports of pyoderma gangrenosum, Sezary's syndrome, and Behcet's disease successfully treated with oral tacrolimus but, because of their small number, they remain anecdotal at this point.

Topical tacrolimus (FK506) for relapsing erosive stomatitis in paraneoplastic pemphigus

“…It is a hydrophobic, polycyclic lactone with powerful immunosuppressive activities 3–5 . The molecular mechanism for its anti‐inflammatory action, which is similar to that of ciclosporin, involves the inhibition of calcineurin, a calcium‐activated protein phosphatase, which is necessary for appropriate immune modulation 3–5 . Tacrolimus is used in the prevention of allograft rejection in kidney, liver and heart transplantation 3–6 .…”

“…The molecular mechanism for its anti‐inflammatory action, which is similar to that of ciclosporin, involves the inhibition of calcineurin, a calcium‐activated protein phosphatase, which is necessary for appropriate immune modulation 3–5 . Tacrolimus is used in the prevention of allograft rejection in kidney, liver and heart transplantation 3–6 . Additionally, systemic tacrolimus has been used in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis, Behçet's disease and pyoderma gangrenosum 6–9 .…”

Clinical Application of Development of Nonantibiotic Macrolides That Correct Inflammation-Driven Immune Dysfunction in Inflammatory Skin Diseases

“…CTCLs are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders caused by clonally derived skin-invasive T cells. Few studies have reported the efficacy of topical tacrolimus for the treatment of CTCLs [59–61]. …”

Progress in Dermatology

“…[45,60] Jain, et al, report a 2% incidence of skin cancer over 6.5 years in patients treated with tacrolimus. [61] Frezza, et al, reported lower incidence of all tumors in liver transplant patients treated with tacrolimus vs cyclosporine.…”