Interventions for preventing keratinocytic cancer in patients with a history of a previous keratinocytic carcinoma: A systematic review.

Keratinocyte cancer (KC) is the most common cancer worldwide. It is important to analyze the actual interventions that are available for the prevention of patients with a previous history of a KC. We aim to review the existent literature to assess the efficacy and safety of interventions to prevent KC in patients with a history of previous KC. We searched clinical trials in which the main outcome was the prevention of KC in patients with a previous history of KC using the strategy published in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO registry), CRD42016045981. We analyzed 18 clinical trials from which eight reported a benefit with their respective intervention but had methodological flaws and a variable risk of bias. Two clinical trials (regarding celecoxib and oral supplementation with nicotinamide) seemed to have the most beneficial results reducing the incidence of KC in treated groups. However, all of the studies are highly heterogeneous, which does not allow a meta-analysis to be performed. New studies with greater epidemiological value should be conducted.

Keratosis Pilaris Treatment: Evidence from Intervention Studies.

Keratosis pilaris is a common dermatosis observed in daily dermatologic practice. The diagnosis is clinical and usually asymptomatic, although sometimes patients may complain of mild pruritus and its cosmetic appearance. Few reports exist about its treatment. There are clinical trials assessing topical treatments and laser surgery, but no systematic reviews on its management were found in literature. An online research was conducted to identify evidence-based recommendations. Lactic acid, salicylic acid, and the 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser seem to be the most effective and safe treatment options for keratosis pilaris among patients aged 12 years and older; however, high-quality randomized controlled trials with long-term outcomes are required. (SKINmed. 2022;20:258-271).

Diagnostic Accuracy of Dermoscopy of Actinic Keratosis: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Dermoscopy is a tool that aids clinicians in the diagnosis of actinic keratosis; however, few diagnostic accuracy studies have determined its sensitivity and specificity for this diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: Determine the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy on actinic keratosis. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted on EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials from inception to August 2019. RESULTS: We screened 485 titles and abstracts. Two studies comprising 219 actinic keratoses were eligible for qualitative analysis. The number and heterogeneity of included studies limited a quantitative analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Studies that focus specifically on the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy for actinic keratosis are lacking.

Quality of clinical trials for the prevention of keratinocyte cancer.

Keratinocyte cancer (KC) is the most common form of cancer in humans. To our knowledge, no previous publications assessing the methodological quality of clinical trials for the prevention of KC have been recently published. We aim to assess the methodological quality of clinical trials focused on the prevention of KC in high-risk groups not receiving immunosuppressive therapy (NRIT) and propose solutions to improve the design of future trials. We searched clinical trials in which the main outcome was the prevention of KC in high-risk NRIT groups using the strategy published in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO registry), CRD42016045981. Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) criteria and the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool were used to assess methodological quality. We analyzed 23 clinical trials. We found a high risk of attrition and reporting bias in 86.9% and 60.9% of the trials, respectively. Regarding the CONSORT criteria, in at least 40% of the trials, the authors omitted the following information: a description of the trial design, the number of losses and exclusions after randomization, the results of subgroup and adjusted analysis, the estimated effect size and the precision of primary and secondary outcomes. Methodological quality was improved in the recently published clinical trials compared to those published before the CONSORT criteria development. All clinical trials should report in detail the information used to assess potential risks of bias.

Content validity of psoriatic arthritis screening questionnaires: systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is the main entity associated with psoriasis (PsO). Consequently, several PsA screening instruments have been developed, most of them are self-administered questionnaires, known as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). OBJECTIVE: To identify, summarize, and systematically evaluate the evidence of the content validity of PsA screening PROMs, in patients with PsO, by the dermatologist, based on COSMIN methodology. METHODS: A structured literature search was performed, until June 2019, that included development and/or validation studies of a questionnaire for the screening of PsA in patients with PsO. The evaluation was based on the PROMs' development, relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility. RESULTS: Eleven PROMs were included in the systematic review with four additional validation studies of the included instruments. Only ToPAS2 (Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Screen) questionnaire had an adequate content validity. CONTEST (Comparison of three screening tools to detect psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis), CEPPA (Center of Excellence for Psoriasis sand Psoriatic Arthritis), and SiPAS (Simple Psoriatic Arthritis Screening questionnaire) qualified as inadequate. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the existence of eleven validated PsA screening PROMs, none were supported by very high-quality evidence of their content validity, which brings the opportunity for the creation of a new proposal PROM for the screening of PsA.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of oral isotretinoin in the treatment of recalcitrant facial flat warts.

UNLABELLED: Abstract Background: Recalcitrant facial flat warts are caused by human papillomavirus and may persist for years despite treatment. Isotretinoin has demonstrated benefits in the treatment of recalcitrant, genital and common warts, but placebo-controlled trials have not been performed. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether isotretinoin is safe and effective for recalcitrant facial flat warts. METHODS: Isotretinoin 30 mg/day or placebo was administered to 16 and 15 patients, respectively, in double-blind, randomized fashion for 12 weeks. Cutaneous lesions were assessed and adverse events including serologic and ophthalmologic changes were recorded. It is considered that warts were recalcitrant if the patient was treated for at least 3 years with at least three of the following options: retinoids, 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod and cryotherapy using liquid nitrogen. RESULTS: Each patient in the istotretinoin group showed complete clearance of all flat warts, while none of the patients in the placebo group showed any improvement (p=0.0001). The most frequent adverse event was cheilitis. There were no statistically significant changes in the laboratory findings. LIMITATIONS: The study design does not permit complete blinding of the dermatologist who can easily recognize the adverse effects of isotretinoin. The clinical findings, however, were so dramatic that this would not have impacted the findings. Another limitation of the study is a lack of follow-up to assess for recurrence after the drug was discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: Isotretinoin is an effective treatment for recalcitrant flat facial warts with a well-known, manageable safety profile.

[Validation of a questionnaire to quantify the risk for skin cancer]. / Validación de un cuestionario para cuantificar el riesgo de cáncer de piel.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, strategies are needed to identify the population at risk for skin cancer in order to implement prevention and for early diagnosis. There are no validated Spanish language instruments to measure skin cancer risk. OBJECTIVES: To design and validate a self-applied questionnaire to quantify the risk of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer in a Mexican population. METHODS: A self-applied questionnaire was designed to measure risk factors for skin cancer. Face and content validity was assessed by five experts in skin cancer. The value of each item was weighted according to the relative risk of the risk factors. The questionnaire was applied to extreme groups in order to measure the construct validity. Reliability was evaluated using test-retest method two weeks after the first application. RESULTS: The questionnaire was applied to patients with (n = 147) and without (n = 249) skin cancer from the Dermatologic Center "Dr. Ladislao de la Pascua". The total score of the questionnaire was different in both groups (U = 2,104.5, p = 0.0001) and ROC curve determined that five points or more equals high risk for skin cancer (area 0.964; 95% CI: 0.946-0.981; p = 0.0001). The reliability of the instrument was 0.971 (95% CI: 0.943-0.986; p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This is the first Spanish language questionnaire valid to measure risk of skin cancer, whose application at the population level would be useful to identify high-risk individuals who need preventative interventions.