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Congress Highlights
We are delighted to present to you the highlights of research in the scleroderma field presented at international congresses, in oral and poster presentation sessions.
Systemic Sclerosis World Congress 2026 - Athens, Greece (5-7 March 2026)
18 Abstracts from EUSTAR Clinical Projects will be presented at SSWC 2026.
Oral Presentations
Thursday, March 5
13:45–14:45 | Trianti Hall
Session 1 – Lung
- 14:25–14:35: OC 01 – Contemporary treatment patterns and clinical determinants of therapy choices in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: insights from the EUSTAR database – Corrado Campochiaro et al (Italy)
- 14:35–14:45: OC 02 – Risk factors and trajectories of interstitial lung disease in patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the EUSTAR cohort – Antonio Tonutti et al (Italy)
15:10–16:00 | Trianti Hall
Session 2 – Heart
- 15:30–15:40: OC 03 – Initial therapy in SSc-PAH improves outcomes across haemodynamic thresholds and risk stratification: insights from the EUSTAR database – Hilde Jenssen Bjørkekjær et al (Norway)
Friday, March 6
09:00–10:00 | Trianti Hall
Session 4 – Vascular
- 09:40–09:50: OC 10 – Association between vasoactive–vasodilating therapy and reduced detection of pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis: evidence from a EUSTAR study – Cosimo Bruni et al (Switzerland)
Saturday, March 7
08:30–09:20 | Trianti Hall
Parallel Session 10 – Oral Presentation (Clinical)
- 08:40–08:50: OC 24 – Real-world evidence: prevalence and clinical outcome of patients meeting the inclusion criteria of the phase 3 trial DAISY (Detecting Effectiveness of Anifrolumab in SSc) – a EUSTAR cohort study – Lesley Anne Bissell et al (UK)
- 09:00–09:10: OC 26 – Which anti-centromere antibody–positive systemic sclerosis patients are less likely to develop organ involvement? Insights from the EUSTAR cohort – Jelena Colic et al (Serbia)
09:30–10:30 | Trianti Hall
Parallel Session 12 – Oral Presentation (Clinical)
- 10:20–10:30: OC 39 – Machine learning–driven phenotyping in systemic sclerosis: CRP-defined inflammation and clinical clusters – an EUSTAR registry analysis – Cristiana Sieiro Santos et al (UK)
Poster Presentations
03. Pathogenesis – Immune dysregulation, including autoantibodies
- P.041 – Demographic and clinical features of systemic sclerosis patients with anti-U1RNP antibodies: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) analysis – Madeleine Venables
05. Interstitial lung disease
- P.117 – Vasodilation with prostanoids influences progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a EUSTAR cohort study – Cosimo Bruni
- P.120 – Outcomes of upfront combination vs monotherapy with rituximab or mycophenolate mofetil for systemic sclerosis interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD): results from an EUSTAR cohort study – Devis Benfaremo
06. Pulmonary hypertension
- P.129 – Macitentan for pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with systemic sclerosis: results from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group (EUSTAR) database – Maria-Grazia Lazzaroni
08. GI system
- P.181 – Vascular disease burden predicts gastrointestinal manifestations in systemic sclerosis: longitudinal analysis from the EUSTAR cohort – Louis Bebear
10. Skin and localized scleroderma
- P.208 – Rethinking skin assessment: analysis of individual Rodnan skin site scores in early diffuse systemic sclerosis using the EUSTAR cohort – Tania Santiago
- P.209 – Enrichment criteria for skin progression in future trials: a preliminary analysis of skin progression in limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis and sine scleroderma patients using the EUSTAR cohort – Tania Santiago
18. Miscellaneous
- P.357 – Risk factors for cancer in systemic sclerosis, impact on disease phenotype and prognosis, and exploration of machine learning algorithms for personalized screening strategies: an EUSTAR study – Antonio Tonutti
- P.376 – Prevalence and incidence of skin telangiectasia and their association with clinical features: analysis of the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort – Silvia Bellando-Randone
- P.377 – Increased frequency of anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies in patients with systemic sclerosis and silicone breast implants: a multicentre study from the international EUSTAR cohort – Maria Grazia Lazzaroni
- P.400 – The national landscape of systemic sclerosis in Egypt: a comprehensive EUSTAR database study – Rahma Elziaty
ACR Convergence 2025 - Chicago, Illinois (24-29 October 2025)
6 Abstracts from EUSTAR Clinical Projects were presented at ACR 2025.
Oral Presentations:
- 0879: Trajectories and risk factors of interstitial lung disease in limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis from the EUSTAR cohort (Antonio Tonutti – Humanitas University)
Poster Presentations:
- 1562: Vasodilation with Prostanoids Influences Progression of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: a EUSTAR Cohort Study (Cosimo Bruni – University of Zurich)
- 0673: Association Between Vasoactive-vasodilating Therapy and Reduced Detection of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Systemic Sclerosis: Evidence from a EUSTAR Study (Cosimo Bruni, MD, PhD – University of Zurich)
- 0702: Effectiveness of Oral Anticoagulants in Precapillary Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Systemic Sclerosis: a EUSTAR Cohort Study. (Nicola Farina – IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital)
- 2477: Current treatment Strategies in Systemic Sclerosis- Interstitial Lung Disease Patients: Real-World Insights from the EUSTAR Cohort (Corrado Campochiaro – IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital)
- 1586: Real-World Safety and Efficacy of JAK Inhibitors in Systemic Sclerosis: A Propensity-Matched EUSTAR Study (Stefano Di Donato – University of Leeds)
EULAR 2025 - Barcelona (11-14 June 2025)
Members of the EUSTAR Young Investigators Group (YIG) have created a Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) Congress Highlights Report. This report provides concise summaries of key SSc-related sessions from the congress, helping you stay informed even if you were unable to attend or missed particular presentations.
15 EUSTAR Abstracts from EUSTAR Clinical Projects were presented at EULAR 2025.
Oral Presentations:
- Anti-Ro/SSA+/RF+ double seropositivity in systemic sclerosis is associated with more severe interstitial lung disease: A study from the EUSTAR database – Blaž Burja (Zurich, Switzerland)
- Evidence-based detection of progression of systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease patients: the EUSTAR-PPF study (CP number 148) – Corrado Campochiaro (Milan, Italy)
- Can vasoactive vasodilating drugs influence progression and prognosis of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease A EUSTAR cohort study – Adela-Cristina Sarbu (Bern, Switzerland)
- Outcomes of upfront combination vs monotherapy with rituximab or mycophenolate mofetil for systemic sclerosis interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD): results from an EUSTAR cohort study – Devis Benfaremo (Ancona, Italy)
- Clinically significant events are better early indicators of disease progression in Systemic Sclerosis beyond ACR/EULAR criteria: insights from the VEDOSS EUSTAR cohort – Stefano Di Donato (Leeds, United Kingdom)
Location and Time: 6.4, 10:30 – 10:40 CEST - Disease characteristics of anti-centromere positive systemic sclerosis patients and risk factors for organ involvement: data from the EUSTAR cohort – Jelena Colic (Belgrade, Serbia)
(An EMEUNET Top 10 Abstract Winner!) - The clinical phenotype of anti-Th/To+ patients in Systemic Sclerosis: a case-control study within the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort – Liala Moschetti (Brescia, Italy)
- Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for Calcinosis Cutis in Systemic Sclerosis: Insights from the European Scleroderma Trial and Research Group (EUSTAR) database – Aslihan Avanoglu Guler (Ankara, Türkiye)
- Risk factors for cancer in systemic sclerosis, impact on disease phenotype and prognosis, and proposal of machine learning-based personalized screening strategies: insights from an EUSTAR study – Antonio Tonutti (Pieve Emanuele, Italy
- Association between vasoactive-vasodilating therapy and reduced detection of pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension in systemic sclerosis: evidence from a EUSTAR study – Nicola Farina (Milan, Italy
- Initial Therapy in Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Improves Outcomes Across Haemodynamic Thresholds and Risk Stratification: Insights From the EUSTAR Database – Hilde Jenssen Bjørkekjær (Kristiansand, Norway)
- Vasodilation reduces the risk of new onset of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis: an association study from the EUSTAR database – Cosimo Bruni (Zurich, Switzerland)
Poster Presentations:
- Interstitial Lung Disease in Anti-U1RNP Systemic Sclerosis Patients: Updated results from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) Database – Gonçalo Boleto (Lisbon, Portugal)
- Increased frequency of anti-RNA Polymerase 3 antibodies in patients with Systemic Sclerosis and Silicone Breast Implants: a multicentre study from the international EUSTAR cohort – Maria Grazia Lazzaroni (Brescia, Italy)
- Applicability of the phase 3 Trial DAISY (Detecting effectiveness of Anifrolumab In SYstemic Sclerosis) inclusion criteria to the general SSc population – a study from the EUSTAR cohort – Emily Kaye (Leeds, United Kingdom)
ACR 2024 - Washington, D.C. (14-19 November 2024)
EUSTAR Abstracts presented at ACR Convergence 2024:
- Can Immunosuppression or Vasodilation Prevent the Onset of Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis? An Association Analysis from the EUSTAR Database (Cosimo Bruni – University of Zurich)
- A Unified Vascular Phenotype Score Identifies Systemic Sclerosis Endotypes and Predicts Prognostic Outcomes: Results from the EUSTAR Database (Francesco Del Galdo – University of Leeds)
- The Clinical Phenotype of Anti-Th/To+ Patients in Systemic Sclerosis: A Case-control Study Within the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) Cohort (Liala Moschetti – Rheumatology Unit ASST Spedali Civili and University of Brescia)
- Subclinical Loss of Lung Volumes in Very Early SSc: Evidence from Two Independent Cohorts in EUSTAR (Francesco Del Galdo – University of Leeds)
- Machine Learning Identifies Oesophageal Symptoms as a New Red Flag for Very Early Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS): A EUSTAR Analysis (Francesco Del Galdo – University of Leeds)
EULAR 2024 - Vienna (12-15 June 2024)
Below are the EUSTAR Young Investigators Group (YIG) reports of the highlights of EULAR 2024 which took place in Vienna, Austria.
43rd European Workshop for Rheumatology Research (EWRR) - Genoa (9-11 May 2024)
Maria Pellico Rosa (University of Milan) and Devis Benfaremo (Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona) from the EUSTAR Young Investigators Group (YIG) attended the 43rd EWRR Congress, on the 10th May 2024, and have reported on the highlights of latest research on Systemic Scleroderma presented at the event.
8th SSWC 2024 - Prague
EUSTAR, together with World Scleroderma Foundation, awarded 15 members of the EUSTAR Young Investigators Group (YIG) with grants to support their attendance at the 8th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress (SSWC) in March 2024. As part of this, each awardee was assigned a congress topic to write a report about. These reports have been compiled into a congress highlights report.
EULAR Congress 2018
Clinical Practice
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
Exciting clinical research was presented at the meeting, especially advances in the fields of imaging, risk prediction models and more personalised approaches to intervention for patients with SSc.
Basic Science
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
A large number of exciting abstracts
foccusing on basic science in the field of systemic sclerosis (SSc) were presented at the EULAR 2018 meeting. This article presents a summary of small selection of excellent work presented at the meeting.
Clinical Trials and Therapeutics
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
A large amount of new clinical research was presented at the EULAR 2018 annual meeting. Here we present a brief summary of some selected abstracts focusing on new potential therapeutic approaches for Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) and its complications.
ACR Congress 2017
Clinical Practice
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
A large amount of new clinical research was presented at the meeting that has the potential to deliver novel biomarkers, improved risk prediction models and more personalised approaches to intervention for patients with SSc over the coming years.
Basic Science
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
Sixty-two basic science abstracts were presented at the meeting. The following selection provides a synopsis of some of the recurring themes and notable findings reported at the meeting.
Clinical Trials and Therapeutics
A EUSTAR Young lnvestigator Group Report
The 2017 ACR meeting saw the reporting of a large number of interesting clinical trials that could result in new therapeutic options for patients with SSc over the coming years.