Morphea is a chronic relapsing autoimmune disease characterized by scarring of the skin/subcutaneous tissue. It affects ~75,000 Canadians. Several clinical subtypes exist, and severe forms (linear, generalized, pansclerotic) have a high risk of extracutaneous involvement, pain, disfigurement, and disability.
Many clinical/research gaps in morphea remain. Only 2 single-center registries exist (Morphea in Adults and Children (Texas), National Registry for Childhood-Onset Scleroderma (Pittsburgh)). Current studies are limited by small patients’ number, unequal ethnocultural representation, retrospective data collection, and use of invalidated classifications, making data interpretation/clinical translation difficult. We created the first national morphea patients’ registry (C-MORE) comprised of 36 multidisciplinary physicians across 17 academic sites, aimed to understand morphea’s clinical characteristics, triggers, severity and burden in Canadian patients.
The aim of this study is to characterize morphea patients in Canada, their demographics, disease severity/complications, to elucidate the impact of morphea on patients’ lives and the risk factors associated with worse disease. This data will be directly relevant to patients as it will instruct clinicians about which patients are at higher risk of
complications and should be followed/investigated more thoroughly. Better understanding the burden of disease will help to stimulate research and development in morphea.
