Skin Imaging Data on Dupilumab for Atopic Dermatitis in Skin of Color, With Orit Markowitz, MD

During an interview following the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress in Paris, Orit Markowitz, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, spoke about her team’s findings presented on dupilumab for atopic dermatitis.1,2

Markowitz and coauthors’ research specifically looked at patients with skin of color, given that the inflammatory disease can appear differently in patients with skin of color. The team set out to assess structural skin changes in such patients with moderate-to-severe disease, both prior to and post dupilumab use, via noninvasive line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT).

“In the imaging study, we looked at what the nuclei and what the skin looks like in lesional, non-lesional, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation,” Markowitz explained. “The poster we presented at EADV on this topic demonstrated that the cells of the nuclei of the keratinocytes were larger and more atypical and lesional skin, moderately so, and more atypical, even and larger in post-inflammatory, hyperpigmented skin than in normal, unaffected skin…And the exciting part was statistically significantly, all of these categories merged into what appeared to be normal and not large and not atypical nuclei.”

Markowitz noted that the imaging technology allowed her team of investigators to understand, in greater detail, what was occurring under the skin with dupilumab treatment.

“The other finding we had was an increase in undulation of the skin, as well as what we expected, that the lesional skin was thicker,” Markowitz said. “But even post-inflammatory skin was slightly thicker than normal skin, and everything with the therapy all normalized and started to merge. That was also statistically significant. So very exciting, very new findings in the inflammatory disease as well as in this very critical, underserved, and often underrepresented patient population.”

For additional information on these data, view the full interview with Markowitz posted above.

The quotes in this video summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Markowitz’s disclosures include the following: Acelyrin, Alastin, Alumis, Amgen, Argenix, Bristol Myers, Candela Medical, Celldex, DAMAE Medical, Dermtech, Eli Lilly, Evommune, Galderma, Incyte, Inmagene, Janssen, Pfizer, RAPT, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sanofi, SquibbCelldex – principal investigator.

References

1. Alexis A, Markowitz O, Shumel B, et al. Dupilumab Monotherapy in Patients With Skin of Color and Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis: Results From a Phase 4, Open-Label Study. Presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress. Paris, France. September 17-20, 2025.

2. Markowitz O, Shiao N, Shumel B, et al. Dupilumab Monotherapy Improves Multiple Skin Measures in Skin of Color Patients With Atopic Dermatitis as Measured by Line-Field Optical Coherence Tomography. Presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress. Paris, France. September 17-20, 2025.