The British journal of dermatology
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Multicenter Study
Uncertain diagnosis and prognosis in advanced melanoma: a qualitative study of the experiences of bereaved carers in a time of immune and targeted therapies.
Recent advances in advanced melanoma therapies are associated with improved survival for some patients. However, how patients with diagnoses of advanced disease and their carers experience this expanding treatment paradigm is not well understood. ⋯ Effective communication of an advanced melanoma diagnosis and prognosis is critical. Recognition of the uncertainty inherent in the benefit of immune and targeted therapies in a constructive manner may facilitate more timely and effective care-planning conversations between patients, carers and medical specialists.
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Skin cancer is the commonest malignancy worldwide, often occurring on the face. Both the condition and treatment can lead to scarring and facial disfigurement, affecting a patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which can be measured using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). ⋯ This systematic review critically appraises PROMs for facial skin cancer using internationally accepted criteria. The identified PROMs demonstrate a variation in the quality of validation performed, with a need to improve this across all PROMs in the field. Only through improving the quality of available PROMs and their focus on the post-treatment aesthetic and functional outcome will we be able to truly appreciate the concerns of our patients and improve the management of facial skin cancer.