While there are about 400 drugs that have been reported to have photosensitivity potentials (1), systematic reviewed published in 2018 showed that only vemurafenib (BRAF inhibitor for metastatic melanoma), NSAIDs and antibiotics (fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines) are supported by strong evidence. More recently, oncologic drugs [BRAF inhibitors, anti-CCR4 antibody (mogamulizumab), and EGFR inhibitors] have been shown to have phototoxic side effects.
The list of hereditary photodermatoses is long; this includes xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne syndrome, UV-sensitive syndrome, trichothiodystrophy, Bloom syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome and Hartnup disease (3). Because of the rarity of these diseases, photobiologic studies on them consisted only of small number of patients.
Among metabolic photodermatoses, the new development has been on the treatment of erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Afamelanotide, analogue of human alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone, has now been approved for the treatment of EPP (4). Dersimelagon, an oral selective melanocortin 1 receptor agonist, has also been shown to be effective in EPP (5).