BACKGROUND: Monthly thorough skin self-examination (TSSE) is an important practice for early melanoma detection that is performed by a small minority of the population. DESIGN: A randomized trial was conducted to determine whether a multicomponent intervention can increase TSSE performance and to describe the effects on performance of skin surgeries compared with a similar control intervention focused on diet. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: One thousand three hundred fifty-six patients attending a routine primary care visit in southeastern New England participated in this trial. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received instructional materials, including cues and aids, a video, and a brief counseling session and (at 3 weeks) a brief follow-up phone call (from a health educator) and tailored feedback letters. MEASURES: Performance of TSSE assessed by telephone interview and having a surgical procedure performed on the skin were confirmed by examining medical records. RESULTS:TSSE was performed by substantially more participants at 2, 6, and 12 months in the intervention group than in the control group (55% vs 35%, p<0.0001 at 12 months). We also noted that a substantially higher proportion in the intervention group had skin surgery in the first 6 months (8.0% vs 3.6%, p=0.0005), but there was no difference at 6 to 12 months (3.9% vs 3.3%, p=0.5). CONCLUSIONS: The TSSE intervention was effective in increasing performance of TSSE, in that it resulted in increased surgery on the skin, and that increase in skin procedures only persisted for 6 months. Intervention to increase TSSE may result in long-term benefit in early detection of melanoma while causing only a short-term excess of skin surgeries.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Monthly thorough skin self-examination (TSSE) is an important practice for early melanoma detection that is performed by a small minority of the population. DESIGN: A randomized trial was conducted to determine whether a multicomponent intervention can increase TSSE performance and to describe the effects on performance of skin surgeries compared with a similar control intervention focused on diet. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: One thousand three hundred fifty-six patients attending a routine primary care visit in southeastern New England participated in this trial. INTERVENTIONS:Participants received instructional materials, including cues and aids, a video, and a brief counseling session and (at 3 weeks) a brief follow-up phone call (from a health educator) and tailored feedback letters. MEASURES: Performance of TSSE assessed by telephone interview and having a surgical procedure performed on the skin were confirmed by examining medical records. RESULTS: TSSE was performed by substantially more participants at 2, 6, and 12 months in the intervention group than in the control group (55% vs 35%, p<0.0001 at 12 months). We also noted that a substantially higher proportion in the intervention group had skin surgery in the first 6 months (8.0% vs 3.6%, p=0.0005), but there was no difference at 6 to 12 months (3.9% vs 3.3%, p=0.5). CONCLUSIONS: The TSSE intervention was effective in increasing performance of TSSE, in that it resulted in increased surgery on the skin, and that increase in skin procedures only persisted for 6 months. Intervention to increase TSSE may result in long-term benefit in early detection of melanoma while causing only a short-term excess of skin surgeries.
Authors: S A Oliveria; P J Christos; A C Halpern; J A Fine; R L Barnhill; M Berwick Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 1999-11 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Radha Mikkilineni; Martin A Weinstock; Michael G Goldstein; Catherine E Dube; Joseph S Rossi Journal: Prev Med Date: 2002-02 Impact factor: 4.018
Authors: M A Weinstock; R A Martin; P M Risica; M Berwick; T Lasater; W Rakowski; M G Goldstein; C E Dubé Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 1999-10 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Susan A Oliveria; Stephen W Dusza; Deborah L Phelan; Jamie S Ostroff; Marianne Berwick; Allan C Halpern Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2004-02 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Martin A Weinstock; Laura K Ferris; Melissa I Saul; Alan C Geller; Patricia M Risica; Julia A Siegel; Francis X Solano; John M Kirkwood Journal: Cancer Date: 2016-07-08 Impact factor: 6.860
Authors: Jerod L Stapleton; Kristina L Tatum; Katie A Devine; Sue Stephens; Margaret Masterson; Amna Baig; Shawna V Hudson; Elliot J Coups Journal: Pediatr Blood Cancer Date: 2015-10-29 Impact factor: 3.167
Authors: L J Titus; K Clough-Gorr; T A Mackenzie; A Perry; S K Spencer; J Weiss; S Abrahams-Gessel; M S Ernstoff Journal: Br J Dermatol Date: 2012-10-05 Impact factor: 9.302
Authors: Patricia Markham Risica; Martin A Weinstock; William Rakowski; Usree Kirtania; Rosemarie A Martin; Kevin J Smith Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2008-07 Impact factor: 5.043