In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy for early diagnosis of nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a novel tool for noninvasive in vivo diagnosis of nonmelanoma skin cancer at high resolution. Given the excellent correlation that has been demonstrated between RCM findings and routine histology, clinicians using this imaging technique can establish an immediate diagnosis. Multiple studies have evaluated the use of RCM in melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer and have demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity rates. We discuss the applicability of RCM for the early diagnosis of NMSC and discuss other clinical applications of this emerging technique.