Spotlight on Topical Long-Term Management of Plaque Psoriasis

During the 28th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) held in Madrid in October 2019, an industry hub was dedicated to the long-term management of psoriasis. Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease primarily involving the skin that affects up to 4% of the European population, the majority of whom present with chronic plaque psoriasis. Topical therapies are well established in the first-line treatment of psoriatic plaque flares. Nevertheless, as psoriasis is a chronic disease, long-term control should be considered. The aim of the session was to provide expert opinion on the benefit of long-term maintenance therapy in chronic plaque psoriasis and introduce the concept of pro-active management to decrease the number of relapses and improve patient quality of life. The current guidelines and recommendations were reviewed, as well as the available data on published clinical trials. There is still an important role for topical therapy in psoriasis and current recommendations suggest a maintenance regimen for psoriasis. Adherence optimization and proactive management of relapse can be key factors for obtaining clinical outcomes in topical long-term therapy. Calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate foam is the only topical formulation with long-term data as a twice-weekly proactive treatment approach for up to 52 weeks for chronic plaque psoriasis.