Future Integration of Biomarkers for Inflammatory Skin Diseases Into Daily Practice: A Survey Among a Multifaceted Group of Patients and Dermatological Care Providers

Abstract

Successful implementation of dermatological biomarkers depends on early understanding of clinical needs and adoption barriers. Yet, research on these factors as perceived by dermatological care providers (DCPs) is scarce and perspectives of patients are largely underexplored. This survey study among patients and DCPs assessed biomarker needs and adoption barriers and facilitators for five inflammatory skin diseases: psoriasis (PsO), atopic dermatitis (AD), hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). In total, the study population consisted of 591 patients and 99 DCPs. Across all skin diseases, both groups mainly prioritized a biomarker for prediction of therapeutic response, however, DCPs prioritized this substantially more often than patients, especially for PsO (79.8% vs. 31.3% resp.), AD (68.7% vs. 37.1% resp.) and HS (66.7% vs. 34.4% resp.). Notably, a biomarker for the prediction of the risk to develop comorbidities was prioritized relatively often by patients (7.0%–19.4%), whereas DCPs only substantially prioritized this for CLE (14.1%). To enhance implementation, patients must ideally be able to undergo biomarker collection nearby their homes (travel time < 1 h) with complete reimbursement. For DCPs it is important that the biomarker is well validated, non‐invasive and measurable during regular visits with preferably a short sampling time.