Grant: Project Grant

Patients are routinely referred to dermatology clinics for assessment of various skin lesions. Although, some of these skin lesions may be high-risk skin cancers, which require surgical treatment, a large proportion of patients may have low-risk skin lesions, including actinic keratoses (precancerous), Bowens disease (squamous cell carcinoma in situ) or basal cell carcinoma. These low-risk neoplasms may be treated with non-surgical or less invasive treatments. Typically, to diagnose these skin neoplasms, a surgical biopsy is taken and the skin is studied through a microscope (known as histology). Surgical biopsies are invasive and have certain risks, such as pain, infection, bleeding and scarring, which makes them impractical to perform repeatedly. We will use non-invasive optical imaging methods as an alternative to surgical biopsy. This will help us obtain microscopic views and other information from the skin, and help us evaluate a variety of skin conditions. We will study 400 patients being treated for low risk skin neoplasms in dermatology clinics and serially scan them for the presence of abnormal cells at regular intervals following treatment. Through this, we will evaluate how effective commonly used treatments are for clearing low risk skin neoplasms and compare optical biopsy findings to histology to confirm our results. This research will offer a novel way of monitoring skin conditions following treatment, without undesired effects to the patient. This will improve care by increasing our understanding of skin neoplasms, efficacy of less invasive and non-surgical treatments, and by guiding treatment to improve cure rates. This will provide crucial insights on how best to use less-invasive treatments and help improve patient experiences.