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Visual clinical diagnosis of dermatoses in people of color (PoC) is a considerable challenge in daily clinical practice and a potential cause of misdiagnosis in this patient cohort. The study aimed to determine the difference in visual diagnostic skills of dermatologists practicing in Germany in patients with light skin (Ls) and patients with skin of color (SoC) to identify a potential need for further education. From April to June 2023, German dermatologists were invited to complete an online survey with 24 patient photographs depicting 12 skin diseases on both Ls and SoC. The study's primary outcomes were the number of correctly rated photographs and the participants' self-assessed certainty about the suspected visual diagnosis in Ls compared to SoC. The final analysis included surveys from a total of 129 dermatologists (47.8% female, mean age: 39.5 years). Participants were significantly more likely to correctly identify skin diseases by visual diagnostics in patients with Ls than in patients with SoC (72.1% vs. 52.8%, p ≤ 0.001, OR 2.28). Additionally, they expressed higher confidence in their diagnoses for Ls than for SoC (73.9 vs. 61.7, p ≤ 0.001). Therefore, further specialized training seems necessary to improve clinical care of dermatologic patients with SoC., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Recent studies suggest that BRAF V600 -mutated melanomas in particular respond to dual anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). Here we identified an over-representation of interleukin (IL)-17-type 17 helper T (T H 17) gene expression signatures (GES) in BRAF V600 -mutated tumors. Moreover, high baseline IL-17 GES consistently predicted clinical responses in dual-ICI-treated patient cohorts but not in mono anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD-1 ICI cohorts. High IL-17 GES corresponded to tumor infiltration with T cells and neutrophils. Accordingly, high neutrophil infiltration correlated with clinical response specifically to dual ICI, and tumor-associated neutrophils also showed strong IL-17-T H 17 pathway activity and T cell activation capacity. Both the blockade of IL-17A and the depletion of neutrophils impaired dual-ICI response and decreased T cell activation. Finally, high IL-17A levels in the blood of patients with melanoma indicated a higher global T H 17 cytokine profile preceding clinical response to dual ICI but not to anti-PD-1 monotherapy, suggesting a future role as a biomarker for patient stratification., (© 2023. The Author(s).)