This trial studies the impact of a 12-month invention focused on early detection of skin cancer and timely follow up in patients who underwent stem cell transplant and their primary care providers. Some stem cell transplant survivors may develop complications related to the treatment they received. Many of these complications may not be known for years after the treatment and preventive measures can be taken to reduce the chances that a complication will occur and encourage early detection. This study focuses on one complication that stem cell transplant survivors are at high risk of developing - skin cancer. An early diagnosis of skin cancer is important since the cancer is usually smaller, requires less extensive treatments, and has better outcomes. Teaching skin self-examination and encouraging patients to alert doctors to skin changes may provide an important opportunity for early detection of skin cancer.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the impact of patient activation and education (PAE, N=360) alone or with physician activation (PAE+Phys, N=360) on skin cancer screening and health promotion practices at 12 months, measured by percentage of survivors who conduct skin self-exam and receive physician skin exam, and time to detection and diagnosis of suspicious lesions. II. Among primary care physicians of transplant patients, determine the impact of an e-learning teledermoscopy program compared with provision of print materials for identifying suspect lesions. OUTLINE: Participants are randomized to 1 of 3 groups. GROUP I: Participants receive a study packet on skin cancer. Participants also receive text messages once every 3 weeks for 9 months. GROUP II: Participants receive a study packet on skin cancer. Participants also receive text messages once every 3 weeks for 9 months. Participants' physician receives a letter that describes the educational intervention and encourages them to do a skin examination at next patient visit. GROUP III: Participants receive a study packet on skin cancer. Participants also receive text messages once every 3 weeks for 9 months. Participants' physician receives a letter that describes the educational intervention and encourages them to do a skin examination at next patient visit. Physicians also receive a free dermatoscope with instructions for uploading images of suspect lesions and attend a 30-minute online course comprising additional descriptions of dermoscopic images for skin cancers and "mimickers" common in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients, along with clear instructions for using a dermatoscope and steps to integrate dermoscopy into their practice.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
840
Complete online course
Receive dermatoscope
Receive study packet
Receive physician directed letter and educational package
Ancillary studies
Receive text messages
City of Hope Medical Center
Duarte, California, United States
Impact of patient activation and education alone or with physician activation on change in skin cancer screening and health promotion practices
Will administer questionnaires at baseline and 12 months to ask about skin examinations performed within the past 12 months. Will use logistic regression to adjust for imbalance in patient characteristics and risk factors. Will also test for group by covariate interactions, depending on group main effect.
Time frame: Baseline and 12 months
Time interval between a participant's first notice of a suspect mole or lesion and the date on which a definitive diagnosis was made
Will be a continuous variable, and will employ a generalized linear model to compare the interval between the two study arms, adjusted for covariates of interest. Will begin with bivariate models to determine potential variables to include in a multivariable regression model. If the group main effect is significant, interactions of the group main effect with other variables will be examined.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
Impact of an e-learning teledermoscopy program compared with provision of print materials for identifying suspect lesions
Will compare the group difference in changes in attitude over time, using generalized estimating equation (GEE) for normally distributed data, with a compound symmetry covariance matrix analysis to account for within-physician correlation. Will dichotomize the Likert scale (1-5) response and compare the proportion of primary care physicians (PCPs) reporting a higher (\>= 4 versus \< 4) level of confidence at 12 months (m) compared to baseline between groups, using the longitudinal binomial GEE model with a compound symmetry covariance structure. Covariate adjustment will be made in these models as necessary.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
Economic impact on patients - cost-effectiveness analysis
Evaluated using standard incremental cost-effectiveness analysis methods will be used to assess the impact of assumptions and uncertainty on results and conclusions.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
Economic impact on patients - sensitivity analysis
Evaluated using standard incremental sensitivity analysis will be used to assess the impact of assumptions and uncertainty on results and conclusions.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
Downstream costs
Will estimate the cost per additional self skin exam completed and the cost per additional PCP exam completed, comparing the two intervention arms.
Time frame: Up to 12 months
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