Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

The congress of the SPIN was a great opportunity to learn about innovations in the field of inflammatory dermatoses, in particular regarding psoriasis. Insights into the pathomechanisms and the mode of action of treatments have developed substantially during the last three years. Effective and safe control of psoriasis and eczema by targeted treatments has become reality.

Whereas topical therapies are the main stay in the first phases of psoriasis, systemic therapies become much more upfront, and dermatologists realise that psoriasis is, to a large extent, a systemic disease. It is the implementation of new biologics (three anti IL-17 molecules and three anti IL-23 molecules) together with the development of small molecules that revolutionises the treatment of psoriasis. On the same page, dermatologist realise the importance of early diagnosis of comorbidities of psoriasis.

The shift from short-term intervention to long-term, safe control was also reflected in the various presentations. Drug survival has become an important outcome measure. Further, biomarkers to predict treatment responsiveness of individual patients and to predict which patients are more likely to develop comorbidities are important research targets for the future.

This congress, at a crossroads from classical systemics and first-generation biologics to a future with innovative highly selective biologics and small molecules, was an outstanding opportunity to get a comprehensive insight into pathogenesis-based treatment of psoriasis. The congress gave a glimpse in the future of other inflammatory skin diseases with the promise of pathogenesis-based treatment for these diseases as well. The future for inflammatory skin diseases is bright.

Prof. dr Peter C.M. van de Kerkhof
Senior professor of dermatologyRadboud University Nijmegen Medical CentreThe Netherlands

Biography

Peter C.M. van de Kerkhof is emeritus Professor of Dermatology and immediate past chairman of the Department of Dermatology of Radboud University Nijmegen. He is currently the coordinating Medical Officer of the International Psoriasis Council and chair of the scientific advisory board of the Dutch burn association. He has been working for many years on the pathogenesis and treatment of psoriasis. He has published more than 700 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has given many presentations on invitation at international conferences. He has served as president of the ESDR, EDF, and the International Psoriasis Council, and was board member of various international societies. Current interests are: pathogenesis and development of biomarkers for psoriasis; real clinical practise research; and personalised medicine.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Consultancy services for: Celgene, Almirall, Amgen, Pfizer, Philips, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Novartis, Janssen Biotech, Janssen-Cilag, LEO Pharma, Sandoz, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Sandoz, Bristol Meyer Squibb, UCB, Dermavant. Speaker services for: Celgene, Almirall, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Jansen-Cilag, LEO Pharma, Sandoz, Bristol Meyer Squibb.



Posted on 21 June, 201924 March, 2021