Epidemiological Methods-Skin Cancer

The advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) role has become critical in oncology care. APRNs are expected to develop and adopt various tools and interventions for cancer screening and prevention. My selected disease for this discussion is skin cancer. The main types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. The selected diagnostic or screening tool I will focus on is a skin biopsy.

Skin Biopsy, its Purpose, and What Age Group it Targets

Skin biopsy is a skin cancer screening tool that involves removing a piece of the skin tissue for laboratory inspection. A skin biopsy can help APRNs in oncology and dermatology departments evaluate a part of the skin, whether or not it is cancerous. Skin biopsy can also be used to screen for other skin conditions and diseases. There are different types of skin biopsies that can be used to screen for different types of skin. APRNs can use shave biopsy, which involves scalping a thin layer of the skin for evaluation, and punch biopsy, in which a deeper skin sample is removed for examination. Other major types of skin biopsy used for complex skin cancer screening include incisional and excisional biopsies. Incisional biopsy includes surgical removal of a part of the growth in growth as a part of the screening procedure. Excisional biopsy is a screening procedure involving surgical methods to remove a whole growth and a part of the skin and the growth examined.

Skin biopsy is primarily used to diagnose various skin conditions. It helps in the diagnosis of common types of skin cancer. Besides these, skin biopsies can also help in differentiating the type of skin cancer as well as differentiating between a cancerous and non-cancerous skin lesion, such as differentiating between a melanoma and eczema or a severe autoimmune reaction. Besides differentiating the types of skin cancer and cancerous and non-cancerous skin conditions, a skin biopsy can help APRNs and other health professionals determine the stage of skin cancer development, its severity, and its progression and response to treatment. The best thing about skin biopsy is that as a screening tool, it can be used on patients of any age group who have a skin lesion or growth that needs to be evaluated for further evaluation.

Has skin biopsy been specifically tested in this age group?

Skin biopsy is a specifically tested diagnostic tool for skin cancers and other non-cancerous skin conditions across all age groups. There are various studies focused on the predictive ability of skin biopsy, including screening sensitivity, reliability, and specificity in identifying and differentiating results.

Predictive Ability of Skin Biopsy

Skin biopsies are combined with other laboratory testing methods and technologies to test for skin cancers. Although skin biopsies can provide improved screening capabilities for skin cancers, the predictive ability of the tests depends on the type of skin. Studies have shown a high reliability, validity, and specificity of skin biopsy tests. For instance, studies by Agarwal & Singh (2022) and Bratchenko et al. (2021) applied skin biopsies in procedures for testing skin cancers and found that skin biopsies improved the efficiency of testing and the accuracy of classifying the types of skin cancer. Additionally, skin biopsy was found to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of 3D convolutional networks in identifying melanoma by over 92 per cent (Wang et al., 2021). The predictive values for screening and classification of test results are from stage 1 to stage 4. I would integrate skin biopsy in screening for skin cancers in my practices as per the tests’ accuracy, validity, and reliability. It is also easy to perform.

References

Agarwal, K., & Singh, T. (2022). Classification of Skin Cancer Images using Convolutional Neural Networks. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2202.00678

Bratchenko, I. A., Bratchenko, L. A., Moryatov, A. A., Khristoforova, Y. A., Artemyev, D. N., Myakinin, O. O., Orlov, A. E., Kozlov, S. V., & Zakharov, V. P. (2021). In vivo diagnosis of skin cancer with a portable Raman spectroscopic device. Experimental Dermatology, 30(5), 652–663. https://doi.org/10.1111/EXD.14301

Epidemiological Methods-Skin Cancer