Patient satisfaction with treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States most of which are non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). There are many approaches to the management of NMSC. Given the increasing focus on patient centered care, patient satisfaction is an important outcome to guide treatment selection. This article systematically reviews the published literature regarding patient satisfaction in the treatment of NMSC. A total of 747 records were identified in the initial Pubmed search. Twenty-six evaluated patient satisfaction, and five were literature reviews or meta-analyses. Patients were generally satisfied with cosmetic outcome regardless of treatment modality. Excluding cosmesis, factors affecting patient satisfaction were not commonly assessed. Patients may prefer greater treatment time and perceived physician effort. The Skin Cancer Index (SCI) along with a modified Likert scale is the most applicable to NMSC. Future studies should focus on other aspects of patient satisfaction and develop a standardized comprehensive patient satisfaction assessment.