Integrating Metagenomics into Personalized Medicine in Dermatology

Abstract

There has been a recent focus on the association between human microbiomes and disease development, disease resistance, and therapy response. Fecal transplants for inflammatory bowel disease and resistant Clostridium difficile infection have demonstrated that manipulating the gut microbiome can be beneficial in treating disease. Microbiomes are important in dermatology, where response to immune checkpoint inhibitors for melanoma therapy can be affected by differences in gut microbial composition. Bleach baths, which alter the skin microbiome, are known to be beneficial in atopic dermatitis. Gut dysbiosis, or disturbance in the gut microbiome in early life, can influence the development of systemic sclerosis and atopic dermatitis. Metagenomic sequencing can therefore be a useful addition to personalized medicine to identify therapy responders versus non-responders, patients at risk of serious side-effects from biologics and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and prebiotic supplements that aid in improving therapy response.