AD, JAK Inhibitors, Psoriasis Among Topics Highlighted at 2023 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference

The 2023 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference will feature panels dedicated to psoriasis, Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor treatments, and atopic dermatitis (AD) in populations of all skin colors. The conference is set to take place in Las Vegas from October 19-22, with both in-person and live stream attendance options.

The conference will start in earnest on Thursday, October 19, with panels and morning sessions starting at 8 am Pacific time. One of these panels will focus on treating patients of skin of color who have AD. Peter Lio, MD, will be leading a segment about mild to moderate AD during this panel.

“There has been an incredible revolution…we are understanding more than we’ve ever understood before about atopic dermatitis,” he said in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^®. “…We’re in this process of refinement, and one of the areas we realized [that] has been, and I think we’re realizing this as a society overall, but it’s been really underreported [and] understudied, is looking at skin of color, because we know there are some important differences that have been unaddressed.”

The panel will not only focus on the treatment of AD in adults and pediatric patients, but also how to address the chronic skin disease in people of color with therapeutic treatment. Lio said that this panel will address why there are differences in AD in patients with darker skin, what that means, and why treatments might be different.

“We’re talking to a wide range of practitioners. Dermatologists of course are, in some ways, the main thrust, but there are many nurse practitioners and physician assistants who are taking tremendously great care of patients and are very much involved,” said Lio when discussing the target audience of the panel.

Thursday also includes a panel moderated by session chair Seemal R. Desai, MD, on the role of JAK inhibitors in dermatology and using gene expression profiling in optimizing the skin cancer journey for patients. Mona Shahriari, MD, and Elizabeth Swanson, MD, will be leading a discussion on case conversations focused the role of JAK inhibitors to start off the session, and Laura K. Ferris, MD, PhD, and Darrel S. Rigel, MD, MS, will be leading the discussion on gene expression profiling.

Friday, October 20, will also feature discussions on vitiligo, melanoma, and AD. Session chair James Q. Del Rosso, DO, will lead a session that focuses on what audiences need to know about melanoma, vitiligo, pediatric treatments in dermatology, and atopoic dermatitis, from panel participants Rigel; Desai; Adelaide A. Herbert, MD; and John Y. M. Koo, MD, respectively. Friday will also feature discussions on nonsteroidal topical therapies in psoriasis and AD, led by session chair April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH.

The pros and cons of monoclonal antibodies compared with JAK inhibitors will be a topic of conversation at a Saturday panel led by Del Rosso. Photodynamic therapy and photoprotection will also be covered during this session.

The conference is set to conclude at noon local time on Sunday after 2 sessions and a wrap-up of the conference.