Targeted Synergy for Vitiligo in Refractory Areas: A Real-World Study of Ruxolitinib Cream Combined with 308-nm Excimer Lamp

Background: The treatment of non-facial vitiligo remains challenging due to suboptimal response to existing therapies.
Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib cream combined with 308-nm excimer lamp versus ruxolitinib cream monotherapy.
Methods: This 24-week, single-center, retrospective real-world study analyzed data from patients who had been clinically treated with either ruxolitinib cream plus 308-nm excimer lamp (n=61) or ruxolitinib cream monotherapy (n=57). The primary endpoint was efficacy at week 24 across different body sites, while safety was evaluated through monitoring of treatment-emergent adverse events.
Results: At week 24, the combination therapy group showed significantly greater improvement in repigmentation than the monotherapy group across multiple body regions: distal extremities (-28.8% vs -12.0%), extremities (-34.7% vs -17.4%), and trunk (-38.3% vs -12.3%). More patients achieved ≥50% repigmentation with combination therapy on extremities (30.6% vs 13.2%). Both treatments were well tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events or Koebner phenomenon observed.
Limitations: Its single-center retrospective design with limited sample size; baseline imbalance in responsive facial/head-neck areas; insufficient duration for long-term assessment; and the lack of a phototherapy-only control group.
Conclusion: The combination of ruxolitinib cream with 308-nm excimer lamp is significantly more effective than ruxolitinib cream monotherapy for repigmenting refractory areas in non-segmental vitiligo, with a manageable safety profile.