title: The AWARE study: methodology and baseline characteristics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alefacept was the first biologic therapy approved by Health Canada for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis and is used either alone or as part of combination therapy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  AWARE (Amevive Wisdom Acquired from Real-World Evidence) is a multicenter, observational phase IV Canadian study of psoriasis patients treated with alefacept. This study's main goals were to develop a shared, real-time, national clinical database to support best practice and optimize the care of patients receiving alefacept and to gain an understanding of how alefacept is used in Canadian clinical practice. Baseline patient demographic data are described herein.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis were enrolled from 37 clinics across Canada. Subjects received at least one course of alefacept treatment followed by a period of at least 12 weeks off treatment and were prospectively followed for at least 60 weeks. Baseline assessments included patient demographics, relevant medical history, psoriasis and treatment history, reasons for initiating alefacept, enrolling physician's initial alefacept treatment plan and strategy, percent body surface area (BSA) involvement with psoriasis, and physician's baseline assessment of disease control. Subsequent assessments at each follow-up visit included the patient's response and the physician's assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 426 adult patients with predominantly chronic plaque psoriasis, with or without other types of psoriasis, were enrolled into the AWARE registry. Patients generally had moderate to severe psoriasis, with more than half (55.8%) having little or no disease control at baseline as assessed by their clinician, and 77% had > 10% BSA involvement with psoriasis. All patients in the AWARE patient population were receiving one or more treatments for psoriasis prior to or at the time of enrolment, and the majority continued to receive concomitant treatments at the time of study enrolment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AWARE registry enrolled a broad group of real-world patients with chronic plaque psoriasis treated with alefacept in clinical practices across Canada.
authors.affiliation: Innovaderm Research Inc., Montreal, QC. rbissonnette@innovaderm.ca
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bissonnette
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Searles
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Landells
authors.forename: Neil H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Shear
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papp
authors.forename: Harvey
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: Wayne P F
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Gulliver
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lynde
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000077944:Alefacept; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D000077944:Alefacept