viernes, 1 de agosto de 2014

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Final Research Plan

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted today a final research plan on screening for skin cancer. The draft research plan for this topic was posted for public comment from May 15 to June 11, 2014. The Task Force reviewed all of the comments that were submitted and took them into consideration as it finalized the research plan. To view the final research plan, please go to http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf14/skincanscr/skincanfinalresplan.htm.

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Final Research Plan

Screening for Skin Cancer

The final Research Plan will be used to guide a systematic review of the evidence by researchers at an Evidence-based Practice Center. The resulting Evidence Review will form the basis of the USPSTF Recommendation Statement on this topic.

The draft Research Plan was available for comment from May 15 until June 11, 2014 at 5:00 p.m., ET. To view the draft Research Plan, click here.

I. Analytic Framework

Select Text Description below for details.

[D] Select for Text Description.

II. Key Questions to Be Systematically Reviewed

What is the direct evidence that visual screening for skin cancer by a primary care provider or dermatologist reduces skin cancer morbidity and mortality and all-cause mortality?
What are the harms of screening for skin cancer and diagnostic followup?
What are the test characteristics of visual screening for skin cancer when performed by primary care providers versus dermatologists?
Does visual screening for skin cancer lead to earlier detection of skin cancer compared with usual care?
What is the association between earlier detection of skin cancer and skin cancer morbidity and mortality and all-cause mortality?
What are the harms of surgical treatment of skin cancer?

III. Contextual Questions

Contextual questions will not be systematically reviewed and are not shown in the Analytic Framework.

Are there identifiable high-risk groups (e.g., via developed algorithms or various phenotypic features) who would have a more favorable balance of benefits and harms from screening for skin cancer compared with the general population?
What proportion of skin biopsies are excised completely (i.e., past the margin)?

IV. Research Approach

The Research Approach identifies the study characteristics and criteria that the Evidence-based Practice Center will use to search for publications and to determine whether identified studies should be included or excluded from the Evidence Review. Criteria are overarching as well as specific to each of the key questions (KQs).

	Include	Exclude
Population	Asymptomatic adolescents and adults age 15 years and older	Persons younger than age 15 years Persons who are already under surveillance for skin cancer because of previous skin or other cancer
Settings	Primary care–relevant, countries categorized as “High” on the Human Development Index (as defined by the World Health Organization)
Screening tests	Total or partial visual skin examination conducted by primary care providers or dermatologists with or without tools to aid examination (e.g., dermatoscopy, whole body photography)	Diagnostic skin examinations in response to patient concern Skin self-screening by individuals or partners Physician counseling for self-screening
Comparison	KQs 1, 2: No visual skin examination KQ 3: Biopsy KQ 4: Usual care KQ 5: Stage at detection
Outcomes	KQs 1, 5: Morbidity associated with any skin cancer (including melanoma in situ, dysplastic nevi, actinic keratosis), including quality of life; skin cancer mortality; all-cause mortality KQ 2: Any harm from screening, biopsy, or excision, including overdiagnosis, psychosocial harms, or procedure-related adverse events KQ 3: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, false-positive results, false-negative results, cancer detection rates KQ 4: Lesion thickness or stage at diagnosis KQ 6: Any harm from lymph node dissection or complete dissection	Locations other than skin Intermediate or health outcomes relating clinician skin examination to other risk behaviors (e.g., self-screening, sun protective behaviors) or measures of doctor-patient relationship quality
Study design	Fair- to good-quality studies published between January 1, 1995 and March 31, 2015 Systematic reviews (of included study designs); randomized, controlled trials; selected well-designed controlled clinical trials; observational studies, including cohort and case-control studies; ecologic studies KQs 2, 6: Same as above, as well as case series on the harms of screening	Poor-quality studies with a fatal flaw; studies outside of the publication window; case reports and case series (except as noted for KQs 2 and 6); decision analyses

V. Response to Public Comment

The draft Research Plan for this topic was posted for public comment from May 15 to June 11, 2014. Public response was largely favorable toward the proposed research approach. In response to specific comments, the USPSTF revised the inclusion and exclusion criteria to include adolescents (age 15 years and older) and clarified that the review will include alternative screening approaches in addition to a basic visual examination (such as whole body photography and dermatoscopy). The USPSTF also refined the search window to include studies published between January 1, 1995 and March 31, 2015.

AHRQ Publication No. 14-05210-EF-1
Current as of July 2014

Internet Citation:

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Skin Cancer: Final Research Plan. AHRQ Publication No. 14-05210-EF-1. http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf14/skincanscr/skincanfinalresplan.htm