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Keratinocyte carcinoma as a chronic disease in Australia and Spain: The importance of avoidance of perceived visible scars
Author(s) -
Venning Victoria L,
Thomas Charlotte L,
Consuegra Romero Germana,
Castro Gutiérrez Beatriz,
St George Gayathri,
FernandezPeñas Pablo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
australasian journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.67
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1440-0960
pISSN - 0004-8380
DOI - 10.1111/ajd.13050
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , scars , quality of life (healthcare) , skin cancer , population , demographics , incidence (geometry) , disease , keratinocyte , cancer , gerontology , dermatology , surgery , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , nursing , sociology , optics , in vitro
Background/Objectives Keratinocyte cancer impacts health‐related quality of life ( HRQL ). Disease progression and treatment can lead to adverse physical and psychosocial consequences. The skin cancer index ( SCI ) is a validated tool with higher scores reflecting greater HRQL . Our objectives were to assess and compare the impact of keratinocyte cancer using the SCI in two diverse populations. Methods A total of 120 patients were prospectively recruited from dermatology clinics in Sydney, Australia, and Santander, Spain, providing demographics and completing the SCI . Results About 61.1% of Australians reported ≥2 skin cancers (vs 20% P = <0.001), 44.4% resulting visible scars (vs 14.8% P = <0.001). Visible scars were associated with poorer HRQL , across total SCI (68.3 vs 81.5 P = <0.001), social (76.0 vs 86.7 P = 0.003) and emotional (54.2 vs 69.7 P = 0.003) domains. Interestingly, perceived visible scars were not associated with appearance scores. The Spanish population reported greater appearance (88.0 vs 75.6 P = 0.008) and emotional (70.7 vs 60.5 P = 0.034) HRQL . Surprisingly, incidence of cancer, recent disease, gender and education were not associated with HRQL impairment. Conclusions Australians with keratinocyte cancer experience poorer HRQL compared to a Spanish population. Offering non‐surgical means when amenable and consideration of psychosocial needs during clinical course is emphasised. While our study highlights the importance of HRQL tools, our results question the sensitivity of the SCI across populations. Further research is required to substantiate its ongoing use.