Abstract
The 2015 Annual Meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) was held in Stockholm, Sweden, and attended by rheumatologists, dermatologists, and representatives of biopharmaceutical companies and patient groups. In this prologue, we introduce the articles that summarize that meeting. As in previous years, GRAPPA members held a Trainees Symposium, providing an opportunity for trainees to discuss their research in psoriatic disease with experts in the field. Two dermatology sessions were held: an update on the International Dermatology Outcome Measures group; and a description of a new tool, the Comprehensive Assessment of the Psoriasis Patient, to more accurately assess the full burden of plaque psoriasis and its subtypes. Four distinct plenary sessions were held to update members on the status of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) initiative. GRAPPA’s patient research partners discussed their 2 years of involvement in GRAPPA activities and were active in several sessions before and during the 2015 annual meeting. New work was presented toward developing a patient-reported instrument to measure flare in psoriatic disease, and the status of GRAPPA’s multiple research and continuing education programs in psoriasis and PsA was summarized. Finally, a Presidential Round Table was held in which the past, current, and incoming presidents reflected on GRAPPA’s history and provided insights about its future.
- PSORIASIS
- PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
- OUTCOME MEASURES
- OMERACT
- COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE PSORIASIS PATIENT
- FLARE
The 2015 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) was held in Stockholm, Sweden, adjacent to the World Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Congress, and was attended by investigators in rheumatology and dermatology, representatives of biopharmaceutical companies, and patient research partners (PRP, Table 1, Table 2), who discussed individual and collaborative research and education initiatives in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The goals and list of core projects for GRAPPA, formed in 2003, have been reported (available from: www.grappanetwork.org)1,2,3,4,5,6.
Composition of GRAPPA members.
GRAPPA executive and steering committee membership.
Prior to the meeting, a trainees symposium was held, providing an opportunity for trainees to discuss their research in psoriatic disease with experts in the field7. In 2015, rheumatology and dermatology researchers from Europe and North and South America who are current members of GRAPPA or who were nominated by GRAPPA members described their studies. Of 26 abstracts that were submitted and ranked by a committee of reviewers led by Christopher T. Ritchlin (Rochester, New York, USA), the 6 top-ranked abstracts were chosen for oral presentation; and 20 additional ones were presented as posters. GRAPPA members provided feedback, including how to improve and further develop the research projects.
On the first day of the annual meeting, Alice Gottlieb (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) led a group that updated GRAPPA members on the 2015 Washington, DC, USA, meeting of the International Dermatology Outcome Measures, a group formed to create patient-centered, validated measures of dermatologic disease progression and treatment efficacy. The 2015 meeting began with a needs assessment review followed by a working meeting around the Delphi process, initially to specifically focus on psoriasis domains in clinical trials and later to include a deeper “dive” into domains for registries and clinical practice8.
Next, a group led by Joseph Merola (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and Abrar Qureshi (Providence, Rhode Island, USA) introduced the Comprehensive Assessment of the Psoriasis Patient, a novel disease severity measure to more accurately assess the full burden of plaque psoriasis and its subtypes, including inverse, scalp, nail, palmoplantar, and genital psoriasis9.
Ana-Maria Orbai (Baltimore, Maryland, USA), et al led 4 plenary presentations to update GRAPPA members on the status of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) initiative: (1) an overview of ongoing projects to achieve patient and clinician consensus on preliminary PsA core sets of domains and outcome measures; (2) a summary of the development of the patient-derived and disease-specific PsA Impact of Disease outcome measure; (3) a presentation of the generic Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System measures and applicability to PsA; and (4) a patient and clinician focus group project in the United States that identifies how patients and physicians prioritize PsA domains and asks patients about the content validity of PsA outcome measures10.
In an article by Maarten de Wit (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) et al, patient research partners (PRP) discuss their 2 years of involvement in GRAPPA activities11. PRP were active in several sessions before and during the 2015 annual meeting, and held a plenary session entitled, “Let’s Talk About Inclusion,” which included a personal perspective from Willemina Campbell (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and an opportunity for GRAPPA members to vote on their belief in the benefit of patient involvement in their research.
A group led by Philip S. Helliwell (Leeds, UK) discussed its work toward developing a patient-reported instrument to measure flare in psoriatic disease12. They reported the results from 2 online Delphi surveys of patients and physicians, who attempted to achieve consensus about items that might discriminate disease flare. Eight breakout groups discussed specific aspects of psoriatic disease flares at the annual meeting.
In an article by Philip J. Mease, et al13, the status of GRAPPA’s multiple Internet-based and continuing education programs in psoriasis and PsA were described. Also summarized were updates of the GRAPPA treatment recommendations project, and the development of simple criteria to identify inflammatory musculoskeletal disease; a description of new patient/physician Delphi exercises; the BIODAM project, which identifies biomarkers that predict progressive structural joint damage; and a report from the Publication Committee.
In a special session at the end of the GRAPPA 2015 annual meeting, a Presidential Round Table was held14, in which the past, current, and incoming presidents reflected on GRAPPA’s history and provided insights about its future. Since its inception in 2003, GRAPPA has become a large and productive organization of clinician-researchers, patient service organizations and patient researchers, representatives of biopharmaceutical companies, and others who investigate and care for psoriasis and PsA.
At the conclusion of the GRAPPA meeting, members discussed action items in a business meeting. The next annual meeting will be held in Miami, Florida, USA, in July 2016.
Acknowledgment
Special thanks go to Pam Love for her tireless organizational efforts, which kept the meeting running smoothly; and to Linda Melvin, a meeting organizer who submitted the GRAPPA 2015 articles.
Footnotes
Financial support to enable these meetings was provided in 2015 by AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Eli Lilly & Company, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB. Innovation Partners in 2015 were Covagen, Crescendo, Mallinckrodt, and Sun Pharma.
