Patient-led Surveillance Compared to Clinician-led Surveillance in People Treated for Localised Melanoma.

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Melanoma (Skin)

Interventions: Behavioral: Clinician-led surveillance
Device: Patient-led surveillance

Registration Number: NCT03581188

Lead Sponsor: University of Sydney

Brief Summary: The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate digitally supported skin self-examination compared to usual care in people treated for localised melanoma.

Detailed Description: Patients may be eligible to join this study if they are aged 18 years or above, have been treated for stage 0/I/II melanoma and are attending regular melanoma surveillance follow-ups at the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) or the Newcastle Skin Check Clinic.

People who are found to be eligible and who consent to participate will be randomised (allocated by chance) to the intervention or usual care in a 1:1 ratio. Usual care group will receive an educational booklet on early melanoma and the usual number of routine clinic visits. In addition to usual care, participants allocated to the intervention group will be required to download a skin checker App to their smartphone and will use a mobile dermatoscope to perform total body skin self-examinations every 2 months for 6 months in total. Email and SMS reminders will also be sent every two months to participants in the intervention group. Participants will be documented on how well they are able to perform a self skin examination, their levels of melanoma-related anxiety, the number of skin lesions biopsied or removed, and the costs of follow-up to the participant and to the healthcare system.

Frequent follow-up of localised melanoma is time and resource intensive, and has not shown improved outcomes. This pilot study will provide evidence on which model is best for follow-up care after treatment for localised melanoma.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 100

Inclusion Criteria

Patients treated for stage 0/I/II melanoma and are attending regular melanoma follow-up as indicated by scheduled visit within next 12 months in clinic patient booking system and
Are able to self-examine;
Have a suitable study partner (spouse, partner, family member, friend);
Have a smart phone with access to Wifi / email / SMS text messaging;
Are able to give informed consent ;
Have sufficient English language skills to read the materials and complete the questionnaires;

Exclusion Criteria

Unable to perform self-examination
No partner or friend to help with self-examination
Do not have access to a smart phone with Wifi/email/SMS text messaging
With a known past or current diagnosis of cognitive impairment

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Clinician-led surveillance	Clinician-led surveillance	Participants receive an educational booklet 'Your guide to early melanoma' and scheduled visits to their clinician as required.
Patient-led surveillance	Patient-led surveillance	Participants receive a mobile dermatoscope that attaches to their smartphone to take photos of skin lesions for teledermatology, instructions on skin self-examination from the ASICA skin checker App, text and email reminders to perform self-examination every 2 months, an educational booklet 'Your guide to early melanoma', and scheduled visits to their clinician as required.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Percentage of Eligible and Contacted Patients Who Were Randomised Into the Trial	Baseline	For the primary outcome (composite primary outcome), the percentage was estimated using the number of patients screened who were eligible and contacted as the denominator and the number of patients who were randomised as the numerator.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Adherence to Recommended Total Body Skin Self Examinations Practice: Frequency of Skin Self-examinations.	Baseline, at 6 months	Adherence to the national guidelines recommendations on skin self-examination frequency was measured via a patient questionnaire asking participants how often they performed a complete self-examination of their skin over the previous 6 months.
Adherence to Recommended Total Body Skin Self Examinations Practice: Thoroughness of Skin Self-examination	Baseline, 6 months	To calculate this variable, the percentage of participants who examined the whole body skin surface during skin self-examination was calculated. Participants were asked if they performed a complete examination of their skin including hard to see areas such as neck/scalp, bottom and feet.
Successful Submission of Dermoscopic Images for Teledermatology (Intervention Group Only)	At 6 months	The number of times images were successfully submitted for teledermatologist review over the six-month intervention period by intervention group participants (count and percentage presented).
New Melanoma Diagnoses Prompted by Visit Type	During 12 months after randomisation	New melanoma diagnoses prompted by visit type such as unscheduled visits and scheduled visits were calculated.
General Anxiety, Stress, and Depression Measured Using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21	Baseline, 6 months	This outcome has been measured using the short version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). The DASS-21 is a set of three 7-item self-report scales designed to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The depression scale measures dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, lack of interest/involvement, anhedonia and inertia. The anxiety scale measures autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety, and subjective experience of anxious affect. The stress scale assesses difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and feeling irritable and impatient. Each scale ranges from "Did not apply to me" (0) to "Applied to me very much or most of the time" (3). A higher value is considered a worse outcome.
New Subsequent Primary or Recurrent Melanoma Diagnoses	12 months	This outcome was assessed by conducting a review of medical records at the clinic. Melanoma stage was classified according to the 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer. Stages range from 0 where the melanoma is confined to the epidermis (melanoma in situ) through to stage IV where the melanoma has spread to distant organs or lymph nodes.
Number of Skin Clinic Visits Attended (Scheduled and Unscheduled)	During the 12 months after randomisation	Total number of clinic visits attended (both scheduled and unscheduled)
Number of Skin Lesions Surgically Excised	During the 12 months after randomisation	This outcome has been assessed by conducting a review of medical records such as histopathology reports and doctor's letters. Descriptive statistics such as median with Interquartile Range of total number of skin lesions surgically excised during 12 months after randomisation were calculated.

Trial Locations

Locations (3): Newcastle Skin Check
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Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Melanoma Institute Australia
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North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia