Assessing Participant Diversity in Acne Clinical Trials

July 2022 | Volume 21 | Issue 7 | 797 | Copyright © July 2022


Published online June 23, 2022

Rohit Gupta MDa, Cayla Roy BSa, Hung Q. Doan MD PhDb

aSchool of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
bDepartment of Dermatology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX




may be due to variations in treatment preference based on patient race.3 In total, these differences highlight that without an emphasis on minority populations, dermatologists may not be able to optimally manage these patients. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that the majority of acne treatment research focuses on studies of topical therapies; while most acne treatment is topical, this emphasis magnifies the paucity of dedicated data for other treatments (eg, oral therapies, photodynamic therapy) in SOC.

Nearly half of dermatologists report their medical training is inadequate on conditions in SOC.7 Modifying training materials and information in textbooks is favored to alleviate this issue8; however, without evidence-based treatment data from these populations, the task of curriculum reform becomes difficult. As a field, we must work to better recognize the importance of trials specifically in minority populations.

Disclosure
The authors have all contributed to and read the following manuscript and have no conflicts of interest or financial disclosures to report.

References
1. Charrow A, Xia FD, Joyce C, Mostaghimi A. Diversity in dermatology clinical trials: A systematic review. JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(2):193-198.
2. Berardesca E, Maibach H. Racial differences in skin pathophysiology. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1996;34(4):667-672.
3. Mehta M, Kundu RV. Racial differences in treatment preferences of acne vulgaris: a cross-sectional study. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(12):802.
4. Callender VD, Alexis AF, Daniels SR, et al. Racial differences in clinical characteristics, perceptions and behaviors, and psychosocial impact of adult female acne. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2014;7(7):19-31.
5. Bhatia N, Weiss JS, Sadick N, et al. Novel polymeric tazarotene 0.045% lotion for moderate-to-severe acne: Pooled phase 3 analysis by race/ethnicity. J Drugs Dermatol. 2020;19(7):727-734.
6. Barbieri JS, Shin DB, Wang S, et al. Association of race/ethnicity and sex with differences in health care use and treatment for acne. JAMA Dermatol. 2020;156(3):312-319.
7. Buster KJ, Stevens EI, Elmets CA. Dermatologic health disparities. Dermatol Clin. 2012;30(1):53-viii.
8. Adelekun A, Onyekaba G, Lipoff JB. Skin color in dermatology textbooks: An updated evaluation and analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021;84(1):194-196.

AUTHOR CORRESPONDENCE

Rohit Gupta MD roh.gupta33@gmail.com