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Mundt F, Albrechtsen NJW, Mann SP, Treit P, Ghodgaonkar-Steger M, O’Flaherty M, Raijmakers R, Vizcaíno JA, Heck AJ, Mann M. Foresight in clinical proteomics: current status, ethical considerations, and future perspectives. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2023; 3:59. [PMID: 37645494 PMCID: PMC10446044 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.15810.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
With the advent of robust and high-throughput mass spectrometric technologies and bioinformatics tools to analyze large data sets, proteomics has penetrated broadly into basic and translational life sciences research. More than 95% of FDA-approved drugs currently target proteins, and most diagnostic tests are protein-based. The introduction of proteomics to the clinic, for instance to guide patient stratification and treatment, is already ongoing. Importantly, ethical challenges come with this success, which must also be adequately addressed by the proteomics and medical communities. Consortium members of the H2020 European Union-funded proteomics initiative: European Proteomics Infrastructure Consortium-providing access (EPIC-XS) met at the Core Technologies for Life Sciences (CTLS) conference to discuss the emerging role and implementation of proteomics in the clinic. The discussion, involving leaders in the field, focused on the current status, related challenges, and future efforts required to make proteomics a more mainstream technology for translational and clinical research. Here we report on that discussion and provide an expert update concerning the feasibility of clinical proteomics, the ethical implications of generating and analyzing large-scale proteomics clinical data, and recommendations to ensure both ethical and effective implementation in real-world applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Mundt
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nicolai J. Wewer Albrechtsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital, Bispebjerg Hospital, Bispebjerg, Denmark
| | | | - Peter Treit
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Martinsried, Germany
| | | | - Martina O’Flaherty
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands
| | - Reinout Raijmakers
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands
| | - Juan Antonio Vizcaíno
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Albert J.R. Heck
- Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research and Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias Mann
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Martinsried, Germany
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Mann SP, Treit PV, Geyer PE, Omenn GS, Mann M. Ethical Principles, Constraints and Opportunities in Clinical Proteomics. Mol Cell Proteomics 2021; 20:100046. [PMID: 33453411 PMCID: PMC7950205 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2021.100046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics have vastly increased the quality and scope of biological information that can be derived from human samples. These advances have rendered current workflows increasingly applicable in biomedical and clinical contexts. As proteomics is poised to take an important role in the clinic, associated ethical responsibilities increase in tandem with impacts on the health, privacy, and wellbeing of individuals. We conducted and here report a systematic literature review of ethical issues in clinical proteomics. We add our perspectives from a background of bioethics, the results of our accompanying paper extracting individual-sensitive results from patient samples, and the literature addressing similar issues in genomics. The spectrum of potential issues ranges from patient re-identification to incidental findings of clinical significance. The latter can be divided into actionable and unactionable findings. Some of these have the potential to be employed in discriminatory or privacy-infringing ways. However, incidental findings may also have great positive potential. A plasma proteome profile, for instance, could inform on the general health or disease status of an individual regardless of the narrow diagnostic question that prompted it. We suggest that early discussion of ethical issues in clinical proteomics can ensure that eventual healthcare practices and regulations reflect the considered judgment of the community and anticipate opportunities and problems that may arise as the technology matures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Porsdam Mann
- Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Uehiro Center for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; New address: Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Peter V Treit
- Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Philipp E Geyer
- Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany; NNF Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; New address: OmicEra Diagnostics GmbH, Planegg, Germany
| | - Gilbert S Omenn
- Departments of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Matthias Mann
- Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany; NNF Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Clapper ML, Fang CY. Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD: A Pioneer of Cancer Prevention. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2020; 13:215-218. [DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.capr-20-0041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
See all articles in this Special Collection Honoring Paul F. Engstrom, MD, Champion of Cancer Prevention
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Affiliation(s)
- Margie L. Clapper
- Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Carolyn Y. Fang
- Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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