acitretin
Meaning of acitretin: Acitretin is an oral retinoid approved to treat severe psoriasis and also used off label to help reduce new skin cancers in certain transplant recipients.
Definition of acitretin
Acitretin is an oral medication belonging to the retinoid class, a group of compounds related to vitamin A. It is approved to treat severe plaque psoriasis, working by slowing the excessive skin cell turnover that produces the disease's characteristic thickened, scaling patches.
Acitretin is also used off label in some organ transplant recipients, who face a substantially increased risk of skin cancer because of long term immune suppressing medication, to help reduce the occurrence of new squamous cell skin cancers in this specific high risk group.
Like other retinoids, acitretin commonly causes dryness of the skin and lips and can raise blood lipid levels, and it carries a well established risk of causing birth defects, a risk that persists for an extended period after the medication is stopped because acitretin can remain in the body long after treatment ends.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Acitretin was prescribed to help manage the patient's severe plaque psoriasis.
Good to know
Acitretin can remain in the body for an extended period after treatment ends, so its risk of causing birth defects persists well beyond the time the medication is actually being taken.