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20652 Background: Acneiform exanthema are the most common side effects during treatment with cetuximab, an epidermal growth factor receptor antibody for treatment of solid tumors, and can cause dos...

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of using 0.1% tacrolimus ointment for long-term treatment of atopic dermatitis. Design Open-label, noncomparative study with 6 to 12 months of follow-up. Settings Outpatient departments in 30 study centers in 11 European countries. Patients We enrolled 316 patients aged 18 years and older with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, 200 for 6 months and 116 for 12 months; 77.5% of patients completed the study. Intervention Twice-daily application of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment on all affected skin. Visits were scheduled on day 1; after 1, 2, and 4 weeks of treatment; and monthly thereafter. Main Outcome Measures Safety assessments included monitoring of adverse events, clinical laboratory values, and tacrolimus blood concentrations. Efficacy end points included a combined score (modified Eczema Area and Severity Index) and an investigator's global assessment. Results Local irritation, adverse events such as burning sensation (47% of patients), pruritus (24% of patients), and erythema (12% of patients) were common but tended to occur only when initiating treatment. Laboratory values showed no marked changes over time. Systemic absorption was minimal, with the maximum tacrolimus blood concentration being less than 1 ng/mL in 76% of patients. All efficacy end points showed improvement. The mean (SD) modified Eczema Area and Severity Index score was 23.7 (12.6) at day 1, 13.5 (11.3) at week 1, 6.1 (9.2) at month 6, and 6.1 (8.1) at month 12. Marked or excellent improvement or clearance of disease was reported in 54%, 81%, and 86% of patients at week 1, month 6, and month 12, respectively. Conclusion Up to 1 year of tacrolimus ointment use was safe and effective in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex skin disease frequently associated with other diseases of the atopic diathesis. Recent evidence supports the concept that AD can also recognize other comorbidities, such as chronic inflammatory bowel or cardiovascular diseases. These comorbidities might result from chronic cutaneous inflammation or from a common, yet-to-be-defined immunologic background leading to immune deviations. The activation of immune cells and their migration to the skin play an essential role in the pathogenesis of AD. In patients with AD, an underlying immune deviation might result in higher susceptibility of the skin to environmental factors. There is a high unmet medical need to define immunologic endotypes of AD because it has significant implications on upcoming stratification of the phenotype of AD and the resulting targeted therapies in the development of precision medicine. This review article emphasizes studies on environmental factors affecting AD development and novel biological agents used in the treatment of AD. Best evidence of the clinical efficacy of novel immunologic approaches using biological agents in patients with AD is available for the anti-IL-4 receptor α-chain antibody dupilumab, but a number of studies are currently ongoing with other specific antagonists to immune system players. These targeted molecules can be expressed on or drive the cellular players infiltrating the skin (eg, T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, or eosinophils). Such approaches can have immunomodulatory and thereby beneficial clinical effects on the overall skin condition, as well as on the underlying immune deviation that might play a role in comorbidities. An effect of these immunologic treatments on pruritus and the disturbed microbiome in patients with AD has other potential consequences for treatment.

Epidermal dendritic cells found in inflamed skin include Langerhans cells and the recently identified population of inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells. Another subset of dendritic cells in humans is the plasmacytoid dendritic cell in peripheral blood, which is characterized by the production of large amounts of type I interferon (interferon-alpha and interferon-beta) upon viral infection. We hypothesized that plasmacytoid dendritic cells might be involved in anti-viral defense mechanisms of the skin. Here we investigated plasmacytoid dendritic cells, inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells, and Langerhans cells in epidermal single cell suspensions of normal looking skin from healthy volunteers and of lesional skin from patients with different inflammatory skin diseases. Langerhans cells were found in normal and in inflamed skin samples. In normal skin, plasmacytoid dendritic cells and inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells were low or absent. Lesional skin samples from patients with psoriasis vulgaris and contact dermatitis contained relatively high numbers of both inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. In contrast, many inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells but only very few plasmacytoid dendritic cells could be detected in atopic dermatitis lesions. Lupus erythematosus was characterized by high numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells but low numbers of inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells. These results demonstrate that in addition to resident Langerhans cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells and inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells are selectively recruited to the skin lesions depending on the type of skin disease. The lack of plasmacytoid dendritic cells in atopic dermatitis may predispose atopic dermatitis patients to viral infections such as eczema herpeticum, a secondary infection of atopic dermatitis lesions with herpes simplex virus. The composition of dendritic cell subsets may help to clarify the etiology of inflammatory skin diseases and forms the basis for therapeutic intervention with selective microbial molecules such as immunostimulatory CpG oligonucleotides.

Background In recent years inhibitors directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have evolved as effective targeting cancer drugs. Characteristic papulopustular exanthemas, often described as acneiform rashes, are the most frequent adverse effect associated with this class of novel cancer drugs and develop in > 90% of patients. Notably, the rash may significantly compromise the patients' quality of life, thereby potentially leading to incompliance as well as dose reduction or even termination of the anti-EGFR therapy. Yet, an effective dermatologic management of cutaneous adverse effects can be achieved. Whereas various case reports, case series or expert opinions on the management of EGFR-inhibitor (EGFRI) induced rashes have been published, data on systematic management studies are sparse. Methods Here, we present a retrospective, uncontrolled, comparative study in 49 patients on three established regimens for the management of EGFRI-associated rashes. Results Strikingly, patients' rash severity improved significantly over three weeks of treatment with topical mometason furoate cream, topical prednicarbate cream plus nadifloxacin cream, as well as topical prednicarbate cream plus nadifloxacin cream plus systemic isotretinoin. Conclusions In summary our results demonstrate that EGFRI-associated rashes can be effectively managed by specific dermatologic interventions. Whereas mild to moderate rashes should be treated with basic measures in combination with topical glucocorticosteroids or combined regiments using glucocorticosteroids and antiseptics/antibiotics, more severe or therapy-resistant rashes are likely to respond with the addition of systemic retinoids.