Serum TWEAK: A cutoff between segmental and nonsegmental vitiligo

Abstract Background TWEAK/Fn14 is expressed in many tissues including the skin, playing an important role in many inflammatory, autoimmune, and neoplastic cutaneous disorders. Aims To assess the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor‐like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) in vitiligo patients. Methods This case‐control study included 100 subjects (50 vitiligo patients and 50 control subjects) recruited from Dermatology Outpatient Clinic, Benha University. All patients were subjected to c omplete cutaneous examination, to evaluate the clinical type, distribution and severity of vitiligo using the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI). Results TWEAK serum levels were significantly higher in patients than in the control subjects (644.76 ± 688.93 vs 282.75 ± 125.67, respectively). Serum levels were significantly elevated in segmental versus nonsegmental vitiligo. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that TWEAK shows 80% sensitivity and 56.67% specificity in diagnosing vitiligo and 100% sensitivity and 80.09% specificity in differentiating segmental from nonsegmental vitiligo. Conclusion TWEAK may play a role in vitiligo pathogenesis. It may be used in the differentiation between segmental and nonsegmental vitiligo and represent a promising therapeutic target in vitiligo.