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Advanced basal cell carcinoma treated with vismodegib: impact on the lives of patients and their families
Author(s) -
Villani A.,
Cappello M.,
Costa C.,
Fabbrocini G.,
Scalvenzi M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/ced.14287
Subject(s) - vismodegib , basal cell carcinoma , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , dermatology life quality index , skin cancer , dermatology , basal cell , head and neck , hedgehog signaling pathway , basal (medicine) , oncology , cancer , surgery , signal transduction , biochemistry , chemistry , nursing , insulin , psoriasis
Summary Locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (laBCC) represented an uncommon, difficult‐to‐treat form of skin cancer until the recent approval of the Hedgehog inhibitor vismodegib. Approximately 80% of laBCCs occur in the head and neck region, causing disfiguring skin changes that have an impact on patient quality of life (QoL). Because the lives of patients with advanced BCCs are severely disrupted, it would be expected that the QoL family members involved in caregiving would also be affected. The aim of our study was to quantify the QoL of both patients and family members during vismodegib treatment using the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Family Dermatology Life Quality Index, respectively.