- Thursday, April 14, 2022
- GRACE HILE
- Congress Reports
The 2022 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting was held Thursday, March 24 – Tuesday, March 29 in Boston, Massachusetts. This program was packed with over 900 world-renowned speakers and 300 scientific sessions showcasing the latest innovations in dermatology and venereology. The following congress report includes eleven summaries on the presentations focusing on psoriasis. You can download the full report or read on for a brief look at some of the highlights.
IPC SYMPOSIUM: HOT TOPICS IN PSORIASIS: A FOCUS ON TREATMENT INNOVATIONS
- Craig Leonardi, MD, IPC President, presented How to Select a Systemic Treatment for Your Patient Given a Palette of at Least 13 Options, where he provided evidence-based recommendations for treating psoriasis patients in the setting of comorbid conditions and lifestyle factors. Cases included treatment recommendations in the settings of pregnancy, history of skin cancer, multiple medications, alcohol use, and hepatotoxicity.
- Charles Lynde, MD, IPC Councilor, presented Innovations in Topical Treatments for Psoriasis. He highlighted the importance of topical therapy as a primary treatment in mild to moderate psoriasis and as an adjunct with biologics. Dr. Lynde discussed emerging topical therapies, including new formulations, fixed combinations, and new molecules in the pipeline that are safe and effective.
- Andrew Blauvelt, MD, MBA, IPC Board Member, presented Innovations in Systemic Treatments for Psoriasis. He reviewed new targeted therapies being developed and summarized recent and ongoing trials of bimekizumab, deucravacitinib, sonelokimumab, and spesolimumab.
LATE-BREAKING NEWS
- Andrew Blauvelt, MD, MBA, FAAD, IPC Board Member, presented Psoriasis Basic and Translational Research: Best Papers from the Past Year. Dr. Blauvelt summarized significant advances in translational science focusing on treatment innovations. He highlighted that dual IL-17A/F inhibition shows superiority in treating plaque psoriasis compared to IL-17A alone, IL-12/23, and TNFa-inhibitors. He also discussed the novel topical AhR-modulating agent Tapinarof and the importance of psoriasis treatment in COVID-19 risk and severity.
- Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, FAAD, IPC Board Member, presented New Developments in Psoriasis Comorbidity and COVID-19. He provided an overview of recent advancements in knowing risk factors and comorbidities in psoriasis, focusing on psoriatic arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Gelfand also suggested dermatologists should play a role in identifying and managing comorbid conditions in psoriasis and made recommendations regarding clinical decision-making in the setting of COVID-19.
EMERGING DRUGS
- April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, FAAD, IPC Councilor, presented Updates on Topical Therapies for Psoriasis. She discussed new recommendations and ongoing trials of topical therapy in psoriasis, including the benefit of ‘proactive’ vs ‘reactive’ therapy, fixed-dose combinations, and new vehicle technology.
- Jashin J. Wu, MD, FAAD, IPC Councilor, presented Psoriasis: Biologics. Dr. Wu provided a comprehensive summary of available biologics. His high-yield recommendations included IL-23 inhibitors as a first-line for patients without psoriatic arthritis, and IL-17 inhibitors, certolizumab, or adalimumab as first-line biologics for the 30% with psoriatic arthritis. Dr. Wu also recommended treating severe flares with cyclosporine at 5 mg/kg/day and using acitretin and UVB to treat patients with concern for adverse effects.
GENERAL
- Boni E. Elewski, MD, FAAD, presented Update on Pustular Psoriasis. Pustular psoriasis is a potentially life-threatening condition and is distinct from psoriasis vulgaris. IL-36 is a central cytokine, and a mutation in the IL-36 receptor is present in some patients. Currently, there are limited biologic treatment options for pustular psoriasis. IL-36 antagonists are in development and show promising efficacy.
- Mark Lebwohl, MD, FAAD, IPC Councilor, presented Which Drug for Which Patient? He summarized current data on psoriasis, focusing on psoriatic arthritis and obesity.
- Wilson Liao, MD, FAAD, presented Psoriasis: Comorbidities. Psoriatic arthritis is prevalent in psoriasis patients, and prompt diagnosis is vital to prevent poor outcomes. Pathogenesis of comorbidities in psoriasis is complex and includes shared cytokines, genetics, and environmental factors. Treatment with MTX and certain biologics may reduce cardiovascular comorbidities. Dermatologists can take an active role in screening and management of these comorbidities.
- George Han, MD, PhD, FAAD, presented Psoriasis: Topical Therapy, Oral Therapy, and Phototherapy. Emerging topicals included fixed-combination Halobetasol/tazarotene lotion, Tapinarof, a novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor, and roflumilast cream (PDE-4 inhibitor). Apremilast is now approved for mild to moderate psoriasis. He highlighted new, promising oral agents such as deucravacitinib, piclodenison, and preclinical therapies LP0200, EDP1915, and RORgT inhibitors.
For a more in-depth summary of these lectures, please download the full report.
