A biopsy is usually taken to check whether a suspicious spot on the skin is the result of (starting) skin cancer. This is not a very pleasant, because painful, experience for the patient. In addition, it also takes a relatively long time before the results are known. In the meantime, the patient remains in uncertainty. It is therefore desirable to develop a new, faster method. Especially because more and more people, one in five, are dealing with skin cancer. With the help of optical coherence tomography (OCT), a skin scan, these two drawbacks are solved in one fell swoop.
Mobile Optical Skin Scan
This is shown by research by Maastricht UMC+ and Catharina Hospital. An additional advantage is that the method can ultimately also lead to a saving on healthcare costs. Partly because the new diagnostic technology costs less time and money. But also because a faster, earlier, diagnosis can also ensure that the patient needs to be treated less intensively.
More than 500 patients who had a suspicious spot on the skin took part in the study of the two hospitals. Skin tissue was taken from half of them, according to the ‘old’ method. The suspicious skin spots of the other participants were examined with a mobile scanning device. A biopsy was also taken before the examination as a control.
85 percent effective
The study showed that the skin scan works. More than 85 percent of the basal cell carcinomas discovered by means of a biopsy in the ‘scanned’ group had already been diagnosed by the skin scan. “That’s a high percentage. This means that an important step has been taken towards more patient-friendly and cheaper skin cancer care,” says dermatologist Sharon Dodemont of the Catharina Hospital.
With these results, the researchers can now start working on the conditions and protocols needed to roll out the (mobile) skin scan widely in practice. However, it is expected that it will take a few more years before that happens. To this end, the necessary work and follow-up studies still need to be carried out. “But, with this research and the results we have taken a crucial step,” concludes Dodemont.
The skin scan method developed by the two hospitals should not be confused with the various skin scan apps for smartphones. These are purely intended to give an indication of whether someone should perhaps go to the general practitioner or dermatologist. These apps perform only moderately, according to a survey by the Consumers’ Association in 2020.