Clinical Characteristics of 18 Patients with Psoriasis and Multiple Myeloma Identified Through Digital Health Crowdsourcing

Psoriasis is a skin condition that affects over 100 million people worldwide, while multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 10% of all hematologic malignancies in the US. There has been limited research on the intersection of psoriasis and MM, and clinicians often face difficult decisions in treating patients diagnosed with both conditions. For instance, the management of psoriasis with systemic immunotherapies in MM patients can be challenging because of concern about immunosuppression and possible worsening of MM. Online crowdsourcing platforms have recently become innovative tools that can actively empower patients in scientific research by enabling the contribution of health data. One such platform, HealthTree^®, helps MM patients find optimal myeloma treatments and has registered > 6000 patients, many of whom have uploaded medical records and genetic profiles. By taking advantage of patient health data available on HealthTree, researchers can gain a greater understanding of the clinical characteristics and treatment responses of patients diagnosed with psoriasis and MM. In this case series, we first report a psoriasis and MM patient treated with the IL-17 inhibitor ixekizumab who demonstrated a temporary, 2-month improvement in MM biomarkers (M-protein, kappa, and kappa:lambda ratio). We then report on the clinical characteristics of 18 patients with verified profiles on HealthTree indicating concurrent psoriasis and MM conditions. We surveyed gender, age, psoriasis type, psoriasis treatment history, myeloma type, myeloma genetic features, and myeloma association with bone damage, hypercalcemia, or osteopenia. Four patients were treated with systemic immunomodulators for psoriasis, with responses suggesting that these therapies did not worsen MM progression. Our results validate crowdsourcing as a way to assess patient demographics and treatment responses for use in dermatology research. We examine the demographics of patients diagnosed with psoriasis and MM and investigate the use of systemic immunomodulators for treatment of psoriasis in MM patients.