Vellus Hair Loss as a Marker for Peri-ocular Malignancy

Skin cancers around the eye are common, but so are other lid lumps. It is useful to be able to tell which lumps are likely to be cancer.

This study looks at whether the loss of fine hairs (vellus hairs) on the skin are a good indicator of whether a lump is a skin cancer or not.

The investigators are recruiting patients who have lid lumps who haven't had a biopsy before, who would be having a biopsy as part of their treatment, and seeing whether those who have loss of the fine skin hairs are the same as those who have skin cancer confirmed on their biopsy.

The study doesn't involve any extra examinations or treatments for participants. The investigators look at the patients before the biopsy as part of their usual care, and take a note of whether or not they have lost the fine hairs at this stage.

The main benefit of participating is that the medical community has better evidence about which lid lumps are likely to represent skin cancer, helping future diagnosis.

There are no additional risks to participating. The risks of biopsy are unchanged whether patients participate in the study or not.

The study is run from the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh.

The investigators aim to start the study in Spring 2020, and will most likely recruit for 6 months depending on the number of participants recruited.

There is no additional funding from any source at present - the work will be undertaken by doctors in their research time.