Proceedings Report of the Fifth Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) 2020

The Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances (SHSA) is a joint meeting of the United States Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (HSF) and the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (CHSF). This annual cross-disciplinary meeting brings together experts from around the world in an opportunity to discuss the most recent advances in the study of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). The fifth annual meeting was held virtually on 9-11 October 2020. A record 347 attendees, including 79 people with HS, from 20 different countries attended. Key take-home points included: Clinicians can optimize each visit by listening, provide education, and discuss treatments; a patient decision aid for HS (HS-PDA) is a freely available tool (www.informed-decisions.org); COVID-19 severity in HS patients was not different for patients treated with/without a biologic; comorbidity screening recommendations will be published soon; neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) may play a role in HS; memory B cells, T helper 1 cytokines, and interleukin 1 signaling contributes to HS pathogenesis and are targets for new therapies; novel therapies are showing promise including a new JAK1 inhibitor (INCB054707) and brodalumab; and HS-specific outcome measures have emerged to better monitor disease severity, flare, and progression including a patient reported measure (HiSQOL) and an HS-specific investigator global assessment. J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(8):868-873. doi:10.36849/JDD.5836.