Using Patient Preference to Inform Ritlecitinib Dose Selection for Alopecia Areata Treatment

The study evaluated patient preferences for two doses of ritlecitinib (50 mg vs 30 mg) in treating severe alopecia areata by integrating clinical efficacy and safety estimates with a discrete-choice experiment (DCE). Involving 201 adults with ≥50% scalp hair loss, the study found that patients were willing to accept increased risks of serious infection, cancer, and blood clots for the higher 50 mg dose due to its greater efficacy in achieving ≥80% scalp hair coverage and moderate to normal eyebrows and eyelashes. The findings suggest that patients value the increased probability of hair regrowth and are willing to accept higher treatment-related risks for improved outcomes, supporting the use of DCE in optimizing dose selection for alopecia areata treatment.