In May 2026, the HCPLive editorial team highlighted many different developments across the dermatology landscape, including recent clinical trial findings, emerging therapeutic targets, and evolving perspectives on patient care and physician practice. News coverage spanned inflammatory skin diseases including atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and nummular eczema, while also examining broader issues in 2 notable feature pieces.
Throughout May, HCPLive reported on promising investigational and approved therapies, including novel combination approaches for psoriasis and overweight, the assessment of lebrikizumab in nummular eczema, and new data supporting upadacitinib in those living with atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodules. Coverage also included 2 podcasts from the Skin of Color Savvy series and The Medical Sisterhood series, with prominent guests highlighting evolving issues in the space.
In the following summary of May 2026 dermatology headlines, updates reflect continued innovation in inflammatory skin disease management, growing attention to health equity and patient engagement, and ongoing conversations related to the future of dermatology:
What Were Some Notable Dermatology Headlines from May 2026?
Mark Lebwohl, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, spoke with HCPLive in a May interview regarding his team’s phase 3b TOGETHER-PsO analysis findings indicating the combination of ixekizumab (Taltz) with tirzepatide (Zepbound) may significantly improve outcomes for those living with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and obesity or overweight.
He spoke about this 52-week, randomized phase 3b study, highlighting the impact of ixekizumab alone versus ixekizumab combined with tirzepatide, with the investigators having assessed 274 adults with psoriasis and obesity or overweight.
In another May story, Kilian Eyerich, MD, PhD, chair and professor at the Department of Dermatology and Venerology of the University of Freiburg, Germany, and guest professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, spoke in an interview with the team about his team’s recently launched study. This followed Almirall’s announcement of the phase 3 clinical trial assessing lebrikizumab in those with nummular eczema. Eyerich spoke about the study’s significance for this disease state, noting researchers believe atopic dermatitis and nummular eczema may share overlapping inflammatory pathways involving interleukin (IL)-13.
In the ADMIRE study, approximately two-thirds of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodules (AD-PN) saw significant itch reduction within 12 weeks of initiating upadacitinib in real-world clinical settings, data released in May suggest. The ADMIRE analysis prospectively followed 120 Japanese individuals with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis with prurigo nodules for 48 weeks after using upadacitinib in routine practice. This analysis was led by investigators such as Hiroyuki Murota, MD, PhD, from the Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ Department of Dermatology.
What Were Some Notable Dermatology Feature Articles in May?
This feature highlights the recent development of the “online-informed” patient, with this trend transforming visits to dermatology practices in a variety of ways. The feature points to clinicians increasingly dealing with patients who greet them armed with Reddit-informed treatment data, TikTok skincare advice, AI-generated differential diagnoses, and screenshots from conversations with ChatGPT or Claude. This feature includes interviews with 4 leaders in dermatology, pointing to online information spread in dermatology as a trend that is simultaneously empowering and potentially hazardous.
This feature touches on atopic dermatitis, a heterogeneous inflammatory skin disease driven by immune dysregulation across multiple T cell axes. The feature notes the considerable variation in the disease’s clinical presentation by patients’ race, age, and comorbidity profile. Within the current therapeutic framework, available drugs target these pathways by blocking individual cytokines such as IL-4, IL-13, or IL-31, or interrupting intracellular JAK-STAT signaling. However, there have been 2 agents targeting the OX40 pathway, an upstream regulator of T cell activation operating at the interface between antigen-presenting cells and T cells, that recently advanced into late-phase clinical development in atopic dermatitis.
Which Dermatology Podcasts Posted Episodes in May 2026?
This May episode of the Skin of Color Savvy podcast was centered on “the sunscreen gap” in skin cancer prevention among individuals with skin of color. The episode featured a conversation between experts highlighting issues such as delayed diagnoses, persistent misconceptions among such populations, and systemic barriers contributing to diminished outcomes despite lower overall incidence rates of skin cancer in skin of color populations. Host Rebecca Vasquez, MD, of UT Southwestern Medical Center, spoke alongside Jeanine Downie, MD, founder of image Dermatology PC in Montclair, New Jersey; Henry Lim, MD, former chair of dermatology at Henry Ford Health; and Jane Yoo, MD, assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The May episode of The Medical Sisterhood podcast featured a discussion between host Mona Shahriari, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University and practicing dermatologist in Connecticut, and Lisa Swanson, MD, a dual board-certified dermatologist and pediatric dermatologist at Ada West Dermatology and St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho. The pair of speakers held a discussion regarding a variety of topics such as physician identity, representation, emotional labor, and the unique interpersonal dynamics surrounding pediatric dermatology.
