Identification of Biomarkers Associated With Disease Worsening Within 10 Years in Scleroderma Patients

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is the most severe of the systemic autoimmune diseases. It is characterized by skin and organ fibrosis (mainly interstitial lung disease, which affects 40-50% of patients), as well as severe vascular complications such as pulmonary hypertension (5-10%), renal crisis (2%), and digital gangrene (5%). There are currently no validated prognostic biomarkers for the progression of SSc, yet it is crucial to better predict the progression of SSc to optimize patient management, but also to identify the optimal population for clinical trials ("progressor" patients). Furthermore, there are no validated biomarkers of response to immunosuppressive therapies that would be useful both in patient management and in the evaluation of new treatments in clinical trials. The internal medicine department of the Lille University Hospital is a national and European reference center for the management of patients with SSc. Nearly 500 patients are followed annually in the internal medicine department. As part of their routine care, patients are hospitalized in average once a year in the internal medicine department of the Lille University Hospital for a complete assessment of their SSc. This assessment includes a detailed medical observation, complementary examinations and blood and urine biology tests. The purpose of this study would be to collect 2 additional blood samples during the standard evaluation of scleroderma patients. The main objective of this collection of biological samples for scientific research will be the identification of new biomarkers associated with prognosis and treatment response to improve the management of SSc patients.