While a wide range of treatments exist for actinic keratosis and skin field cancerisation, the long-term benefits of the most common topical therapies are poorly defined. This report reviews the efficacy of the most commonly used topical therapies to treat regional or field lesions. Limited clinical and histopathological data are available on clearance rates at 12 months post-treatment for the most commonly used agents, with varied outcome measures making any comparison difficult. In general, total field clearance rates at 12 months are suboptimal for the most commonly employed agents. Given the increasing incidence of actinic keratosis and skin field cancerisation due to an ageing population, further research into the efficacy of therapies is critical to guide treatment choice.

Summary Background A range of ‘field‐directed’ treatments is available for the management of extensive skin field cancerization (ESFC), but to date, the only validated objective quantitative tools are limited to assessment of actinic keratoses (AKs) affecting the head. Aims To develop a versatile quantitative instrument for objective clinical assessment of ESFC and perform initial internal validation across multiple anatomical zones. Methods The study comprised instrument development, pilot testing and instrument refinement and two rounds of reliability and inter‐rater validation testing. The study was noninterventional and used a convenience sample of de‐identified patient photographs selected based on preset criteria. An expert panel developed the instrument and scoring system via a modified Delphi voting process. A sample of 16 healthcare professionals from multiple specialties undertook the pilot testing, and a panel of seven dermatologists were involved in validation testing. Validation was determined by assessment of overall inter‐rater agreement using Gwet chance‐corrected agreement coefficients (ACs). Results The instrument produced, called the Method for Assessing Skin Cancer and Keratoses™ (MASCK™), comprises the Skin Field Cancerization Index (SFCIndex), derived from area of skin involvement and AKs (number and thickness), a global assessment score and a cancer‐in‐zone score, and uses Likert scales for quantitative scoring. The SFCIndex is a composite score comprising the number and thickness of AKs multiplied by area of skin involvement. ACs for the SFCIndex components, the overall SFCIndex score and the global assessment score were > 0.80 (rated ‘almost perfect’) while the AC for the cancer‐in‐zone metric was lower (0.33, rated ‘fair’). Internal consistency was demonstrated via positive correlation between the overall SFCIndex score and the global assessment score. Conclusions Our study found near‐perfect agreement in inter‐rater reliability when using MASCK to assess the severity of ESFC in multiple anatomical sites. Further validation of this novel instrument is planned to specifically assess its reliability, utility and feasibility in clinical practice.

Extensive Skin Field Cancerization (ESFC) describes multiple actinic keratoses, with and without keratinocyte skin cancers. These areas are characterised by dysplastic keratoses, are prone to new malignancies, involve significant morbidity, have a poor cosmetic appearance, and impact negatively on quality of life. Available topical field therapies have limited durability of efficacy. Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is an advanced form of intensity-modulated radiotherapy which achieves highly modulated and conformal dosimetry, delivering a homogeneous dose, particularly over curved surfaces, for example, scalps and limbs. This series describes the 12-month follow-up analysis of 41 VMAT treated fields from 32 (21 M, 11 F) patients. Consent was obtained after VMAT treatment to allow access to outcomes data. Conditions treated include ESFC, Bowen’s disease/SCC in situ, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Efficacy was measured by the percentage reduction of visible pathology within the treatment field. The primary endpoint for this review was the assessment of treatment success, defined as &#x3e;90% clearance of the treatment field. As part of this definition, the appearance of isolated keratoses at 12 months was considered not significant if the field overall was clear. The development of new or recurrent cancers within the 12-month follow-up period was recorded. Thirty-six fields (87%) achieved a clinical clearance &#x3e;90%. Of those, 33 (80%) fields achieved complete clearance &#x3e;99% of visible actinic keratosis or keratinocyte cancers. Three fields (7%) demonstrated 91–99% clinical clearance, and no treatment failures were recorded. Two newly occurring lesions (1 BCC and 1 SCC in situ) were identified within a treated field at 12 months. The reported toxicities at 12-month post-treatment were grade 1 or 2 only, with no cases of persistent radiation dermatitis. Toxicities reported in more than 5% of cases included: alopecia (<i>n</i> = 4); dryness (<i>n</i>= 3); erythema (<i>n</i> = 2); and telangiectasia ulceration (<i>n</i> = 4). The high rate of complete clearance at 12 months seen in this case series compares very favourably with other treatments, including topical 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod, and photodynamic therapy. Toxicities reported in our patient population demonstrated that VMAT was well tolerated at 12-month post-treatment. VMAT treatment may play a growing role in future therapy for ESFC with and without keratinocyte cancers.

The use of Radiotherapy (RT) for skin cancer by dermatologists has decreased since the latter half of last century for many reasons. Driven by clinical need, radiation oncologists, radiation biologists and physicists, have progressed RT in many ways over the course of the last fifty years. The creation of multidisciplinary meetings for clinicians involved in skin cancer has put the specialisties of dermatology and radiation oncology in touch. With better modalities and techniques, is there a new role for RT in skin cancer?. A particular scenario is the treatment of Extensive Skin Field Cancerisation (ESFC), where in situ disease can cause significant symptoms and can lead to invasive disease. Current dermatologic and traditional radiation treatments have been disappointing, especially for large convex surfaces of sun-exposed areas such as scalps. These therapies all suffer from a top down problem. To give enough treatment to fully sterilize in situ disease in deep skin appendages, unacceptable side effects can be suffered in the more superficial layers, sometimes leading to a lack of compliance. This review explains recent advances in RT that allow a more homogenous RT dose through the skin treatment volume. Trials need to be performed with modern RT in ESFC. The review also attempts to set some meaningful definitions that can be used for trials. Hopefully these efforts will lead to better oncological, functional, and cosmetic outcomes for patient suffering from ESFC.

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which occurs most often in children compared with the adult AD population [5]. Wool is commonly considered an allergen and trigger for exacerbation of AD. However, Super Fine Merino Wool (SMW) has not been extensively studied and may show some effect in improving AD symptoms such as itch, erythema and induration. To explore this hypothesis, we performed an investigator blinded, repeated measures, self-controlled experimental design study with Super Fine Merino Base Layer Garments (SMWBG). SMWBG were worn by 29 patients with AD between the ages of 6 to 25 years over a 15 week period. We examined the tolerability and potential therapeutic effect of SMWBG (garments worn directly against the skin) in children and young adults with atopic dermatitis (AD). Response was assessed using validated scoring scales: Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD 1 ), Eczema Area Severty Index (EASI 2 ), Patient-Orientated Eczema Measures (POEM 3 ) and a non-validated Dermatitis Severity Assessment (DSA 4 ). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted to measure the difference between garment intervention phases. Statistically significant results were observed between the pre-garment intervention phase and the with-garment interventionphases for many of the scores. Results found that SMWBG were well-tolerated in children and young adults as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of AD. This study was conducted in Brisbane, Australia between July 2014 and October 2015 and is Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approved.