Journal-based CME Course: Standardizing Retrospective Observational Research in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma – Expert Panel Guidelines from ITSCC

Activity ID

13629

Expires

July 24, 2027

Format Type

Journal-based

CME Credit

1

Fee

$30

CME Provider: JAMA Dermatology

Description of CME Course

Importance  Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is the second most common malignant disease in the US. Although it typically carries a good prognosis, a subset of CSCCs are highly aggressive, carrying regional and distant metastatic potential. Due to its high incidence, this aggressive subset is responsible for considerable mortality, with an overall annual mortality estimated to equal or even surpass melanoma. Despite this morbidity, CSCC is excluded from national cancer registries, making it difficult to study its epidemiology and outcomes. Therefore, the bulk of the CSCC literature is composed of single-center and multi-institutional retrospective cohort analyses. Given variations in reporting measures and analyses in these studies, interpretability between studies and the ability to pool results are limited.

Objective  To define standardized reporting measures for retrospective CSCC studies.

Findings  An expert panel was convened to determine standardized guidelines for recording and analyzing retrospective CSCC data. A total of 13 dermatologists and dermatologic surgeons with more than 5 years of posttraining experience and considerable experience with performing CSCC outcomes research were recruited to the panel. Consensus recommendations were achieved for CSCC retrospective study reporting measures, definitions, and analyses.

Conclusions and Relevance  The recommendations in this report present the potential to standardize future CSCC retrospective studies. With such standardization, future work may have greater interstudy interpretability and allow for pooled analyses.

Disclaimers

1. This activity is accredited by the American Medical Association.
2. This activity is free to AMA members.

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