Infectious, oncologic, and autoimmune comorbidities of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: a report from the GRAPPA 2012 annual meeting.

At the 2012 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and PsA (GRAPPA) in Stockholm, Sweden, members addressed the infectious, oncologic, and autoimmune comorbidities of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Members discussing infectious comorbidities asked whether patients with psoriasis or PsA are predisposed to particular types of infections, and whether the use of biologic agents is advisable in patients with certain preexisting infections. Regarding the oncologic comorbidities of psoriasis and PsA, members addressed cutaneous malignancy screening, lymphoproliferative malignancy risk and the need for screening, and treatment of patients with preexisting oncologic history requiring systemic therapy. Finally, GRAPPA members discussed autoimmune comorbidities associated with psoriasis and PsA; they agreed that research is nascent in this field and larger studies are necessary to determine the precise magnitude of these associations.