Systematic review of ethical and social aspects of biomarker research and its application in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis

Biomarker research is associated with high hopes for the two chronic skin diseases atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Although various effective treatments have been developed, many challenges remain concerning diagnostics (the practice of identifying the diseases) and the development of targeted treatments, but also regarding a number of ethical and social issues. The article builds on our comprehensive review of the literature, which is called a ‘systematic review of reason’ and is an established standardized method.

We examine the ethical and social debate on biomarker research for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. We discuss topics such as risks and benefits of subgrouping of patients, ethical aspects of big data and advanced data analytics for biomarker use in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. The review includes argument-based ethics publications and scientific literature with implicitly ethically relevant aspects.

The 43 relevant articles identified through systematic searches were clustered into three topic groups: (i) ethical aspects of subgrouping of patients and precision medicine, (ii) digital ethics and (iii) research ethics with a focus on complexity and validation. We found that compared to other fields, such as cancer research, the ethical aspects of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are rarely explained and addressed in detail.

In particular, more work is required on scientific standards, digital ethics and responsible clinical application of biomarkers for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, patient participation and ethical issues of biomarker use for children or young people with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. We close with suggestions on how to address the ethical and social dimension of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis research and practice more directly in future.

Related publication:
Mapping ethical and social aspects of biomarker research and its application in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis: a systematic review of reason. M.-Ch. Fritzsche, A. M. Buyx, N. Hangel. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (JEADV), doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.18128

Systematic review of ethical and social aspects of biomarker research and its application in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis