Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV
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J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol · Jul 2018
Multicenter Study Observational StudyPatient-reported health outcomes in patients with non-melanoma skin cancer and actinic keratosis: results from a large-scale observational study analysing effects of diagnoses and disease progression.
Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and actinic keratosis (AK) are very common among fair-skinned individuals. A disease continuum from AK to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has been frequently postulated. AK and NMSC may influence quality of life (QL) of patients, and it can be suspected that disease progression entails a QL reduction. The purpose of this study was to document QL in patients with NMSC and AK using the health-outcome questionnaire EQ-5D-5L. ⋯ While rarely being imminently life-threatening, NMSC and AK have an impact on QL as quantified by the EQ-5D-5L. This impact is associated with diagnosis (AK vs. NMSC) and clinical progression (AK vs. AK plus SCC). Both lead to a clear decline in QL. This shows that disease progression is perceived and judged as detrimental by patients and that AK and NMSC should be diligently treated to preserve and restore QL.