Proceedings Report of the Fifth Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) 2020

August 2021 | Volume 20 | Issue 8 | Original Article | 868 | Copyright © August 2021


Published online July 27, 2021

doi:10.36849/JDD.5836

Caralin Schneider BA,a* Madeline Adelman MD,b* Nouf Almuhanna MD,c Surav Sakya MD,d Isabelle Delorme MD,e Iltefat Hamzavi, MD,f Joslyn S. Kirby MD MS MEdg

aUniversity of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
bWayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
cDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
dPenn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
eDr Isabelle Delorme Inc, Dermatologue, Drummondville, QC, Canada
fDepartment of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI
gDepartment of Dermatology, Penn State Health, Hershey, PA

*co-first authors

Abstract
The Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) is a joint meeting of the United States Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (HSF) and the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (CHSF). This annual cross-disciplinary meeting brings together experts from around the world in an opportunity to discuss the most recent advances in the study of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The fifth annual meeting was held virtually on 9-11 October 2020. A record 347 attendees, including 79 people with HS, from 20 different countries attended. Key take-home points included: Clinicians can optimize each visit by listening, provide education, and discuss treatments; a patient decision aid for HS (HS-PDA) is a freely available tool (www.informed-decisions.org); COVID-19 severity in HS patients was not different for patients treated with/without a biologic; comorbidity screening recommendations will be published soon; neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) may play a role in HS; memory B cells, T helper 1 cytokines, and interleukin 1 signaling contributes to HS pathogenesis and are targets for new therapies; novel therapies are showing promise including a new JAK1 inhibitor (INCB054707) and brodalumab; and HS-specific outcome measures have emerged to better monitor disease severity, flare, and progression including a patient reported measure (HiSQOL) and an HS-specific investigator global assessment.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(8):868-873. doi:10.36849/JDD.5836

INTRODUCTION

The fifth annual Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) was held virtually from 9-11 October 2020. The symposium is a joint meeting of the United States Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (HSF) and the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (CHSF). The conference opened with an introduction by Dr. Joslyn S. Kirby, SHSA 2020 co-chair, Dr. Isabelle Delorme, the president of CHSF and SHSA 2020 co-chair, and Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi, the president of HSF. This annual cross-disciplinary meeting brought together experts from around the world to discuss the most recent clinical, scientific, and surgical advances in the study of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS). Proceeding reports from previous meetings are published on an annual basis.1-4 In 2020, a total of 347 attendees, including 79 people affected with HS, from 20 countries around the world.

Session 1: “Health Services and Epidemiology”
Moderator: Dr. Joslyn Kirby
Dr. Ricardo Cibotti, program director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), opened the first session with remarks on the growing HS research landscape as evidenced by the increased grant application submissions to the NIAMS since 2017 and the record high submissions in both 2019 and 2020. Among the submitted applications, the top two research topics were regarding genetics and immune mechanisms of HS.

Following this introduction, Dr. Christopher Sayed presented guidance for clinicians on how to effectively communicate with patients living with HS. Important tips and advice for effective
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