The future of vaccination as a treatment strategy in dermatological diseases

Vaccination approaches are increasingly explored as means for both prevention and therapy of skin diseases. These development are boosted by the rapidly accumulating knowledge of the molecular and cellular bases of these disease and the antigens involved, on the one hand, and of the components and mechanisms of cellular and humoral immune responses, on the other. In a number of cases these newly developed vaccination strategies are already tested in clinical trials. Although most of them are still in very early stages of the development, it is foreseeable that vaccination will emerge as an important option for prevention and treatment of infectious skin diseases as well as of cancer, allergies and maybe, auto-immune disorders.