Folliculitis

Summary

Folliculitis (MONDO:0006552) is a disease with 1 GWAS associations across 4 studies and 9 clinical trials. Top therapeutic interventions include cephalexin anhydrous, clindamycin, and beclomethasone dipropionate. A subtype of dermatitis — broader associated-gene and molecular evidence is on the parent page (see Disease family below).

At a glance

• GWAS associations: 1
• Clinical trials: 9

Clinical features

No curated clinical features (Orphanet) for this disease.

Identifiers

Disease identifiers

Field	Value
Canonical name	folliculitis
Mondo ID	MONDO:0006552
EFO	EFO:1000702
MeSH	D005499
DOID	DOID:4409
NCIT	C94408
SNOMED CT	13600006
UMLS	C0016436
MedGen	4752
Is cancer (heuristic)	no

Also known as: dermatitis of hair follicle · hair follicle dermatitis

Data availability: 1 GWAS association (4 studies).

Disease family

This is a subtype of dermatitis. Genetic, therapeutic, and trial evidence is largely curated at the broader-term level — see the parent page for the associated-gene cohort and molecular evidence.

Classification path: disease › human disease › disease by body system or component › integumentary system disorder › skin disorder › dermatitis › folliculitis

Related subtypes (32): spongiotic dermatitis, atopic eczema, psoriasis, contact dermatitis, urticaria, acneiform dermatitis, acrodermatitis, granuloma annulare, granulomatous dermatitis, lichen planus, neurodermatitis, neurotic excoriation, parapsoriasis, pityriasis rosea, seborrheic dermatitis, acanthosis nigricans, dermatosis papulosa nigra, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, vitiligo, acne, porphyria cutanea tarda, dermatomyositis, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, hydroa vacciniforme, autoimmune bullous skin disease, cutaneous vasculitis, skin infection, intertrigo, lipodermatosclerosis, exfoliative dermatitis, radiodermatitis, food dermatitis

Subtypes (4): eosinophilic pustular folliculitis, Demodex folliculitis, acne keloid, sycosis barbae

Genetics & variants

GWAS landscape

1 GWAS associations across 4 studies. Top hits map to 2 distinct genes (as reported by GWAS).

Top associations by p-value

rsID	p-value	Gene	Risk allele	Odds ratio
rs193016140	1e-07	TPTE2P5, SUGT1P3	?

Top studies (by case count)

Study	Lead author	Year	Cases	Controls	Title
GCST90651842	Liu TY	2025	1,258	231,046	Diversity and longitudinal records: Genetic architecture of disease associations and polygenic risk in the Taiwanese Han population.
GCST90080365	Backman JD	2021	680	384,976	Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants.
GCST90084351	Backman JD	2021	680	384,976	Exome sequencing and analysis of 454,787 UK Biobank participants.
GCST90301373	Casares-Marfil D	2023	318	0	Clinical trait-specific genetic analysis in Behçet’s disease identifies novel loci associated with ocular and neurological involvement.

Variant details and genetic-evidence tiers

Tier distribution (top 50 variants)

Tier	Variants
Tier 1: coding	0
Tier 2: splice/UTR	0
Tier 3: regulatory	0
Tier 4: intronic/intergenic	1

MAF distribution

Bucket	Variants
common (>=0.05)	0
low_freq (0.01-0.05)	0
rare (<0.01)	0
unknown	1

Functional consequences

Consequence	Count
intron_variant	1

Top variants

rsID	Chr	Pos	Alleles	MAF	Consequence	Gene	p-value	Tier
rs193016140	13	40829489	C>A,T		intron_variant	TPTE2P5, SUGT1P3	1e-07	Tier 4: intronic/intergenic

Genes & proteins

No associated-gene cohort resolved for this disease. Atlas builds the molecular and therapeutic sections — associated genes, protein families, druggability, pathways, interactions, and drug associations — by aggregating over a disease’s associated genes (resolved via GWAS / GenCC / ClinVar / CIViC), and none resolved here. This is expected for antibody-mediated, autoimmune, or otherwise non-gene-defined conditions; the curated evidence for this disease is its clinical features, GWAS susceptibility, and clinical trials (above).

Function

No pathway enrichment — requires an associated-gene cohort.

Therapeutics

Drugs indicated for this disease

No approved or late-stage (phase ≥3) drug is indicated for this disease; the following are in earlier-phase trials only.

Earlier-phase candidates (phase 2, investigational — efficacy not yet established): Beclomethasone Dipropionate, Clotrimazole, Gentamicin.

Clinical trials & evidence

Clinical trials

Clinical trials: 9.

Phase distribution (across all retrieved trials)

Phase	Trials
Not specified	4
PHASE4	3
PHASE2/PHASE3	1
PHASE2	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT00352612	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Comparison of Cephalexin Versus Clindamycin for Suspected CA-MRSA Skin Infections
NCT00746109	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Study of Wound Packing After Superficial Skin Abscess Drainage
NCT01126268	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Twice Daily Altabax Application for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Soft Tissue Infection
NCT01244256	PHASE2/PHASE3	SUSPENDED	Efficacy and Comparative of the Association Beclomethasone Clotrimzaol + Gentamicin in Patients With Acne Contaminated
NCT01094444	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Investigation of the Effect of Vitamin K3-lotion for the Treatment of Cetuximab Induced Folliculitis
NCT00289588	Not specified	COMPLETED	An Attempt to Reduce Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Infection in Soldiers
NCT05345093	Not specified	COMPLETED	Evaluation of Safety and Performance of Ialuxid Gel in Treatment of Acne Vulgaris, and Folliculitis
NCT05793164	Not specified	COMPLETED	Characterization and Risk Factors of Folliculitis After Hair Transplantation
NCT06052241	Not specified	COMPLETED	Artificial Intelligence-based Prescription of Personalized Scalp Cosmetics

Drugs tested across these trials (top 30)

Molecule	Max phase	Trials referencing
CEPHALEXIN ANHYDROUS	4	3
CLINDAMYCIN	4	3
BECLOMETHASONE DIPROPIONATE	4	1
CLOTRIMAZOLE	4	1
GENTAMICIN	4	1
MENADIONE	4	1
MUPIROCIN	4	1
RETAPAMULIN	4	1
BECLOMETHASONE	2	1
CHEMBL4755088	0	1
CHEMBL5282170	0	1
CHEMBL195892	0	1
CHEMBL3039597	0	1
CHEMBL4793658	0	1
GENTAMICIN C1A	0	1
GENTAMICIN C2	0	1