According to the most recent guideline of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), desmoplasia is considered to be a very high risk factor for recurrence, metastasis and death in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). The presence of desmoplasia is assessed by dermatopathologists during histological examination of cSCCs. However, the inter-observer agreement is between dermatopathologists in the assessment of desmoplasia is unclear. Studies on inter-observer variability in the assessment of differentiation grade in cSCCs showed that there is only a weak to moderate agreement among dermatopathologists in the assessment of differentiation grade (2-4). This study aims to investigate the interobserver agreement of desmoplasia between dermatopathologists. In this prospective study, 50 cSCCs will be assessed for desmoplasia by at least eight dermatopathologists using a predefined definition.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
50
Histological assessment of the cSCCs by eight dermatopathologists.
Maastricht University Medical Center+
Maastricht, Netherlands
Interobserver agreement
Interobserver agreement between dermatopathologists in the assessment of desmoplasia, expressed as percentages and Fleiss' kappa (Landis and Koch, see below) \<0 Poor agreement 0.0-0.20 Slight agreement 0.21-0.40 Fair agreement 0.41-0.60 Moderate agreement 0.61-0.80 Substantial agreement 0.81-1.00 Almost perfect agreement
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 2 months
Definitions used
A description of the different definitions of desmoplasia used by the dermatopathologists.
Time frame: Before the histological assessment, at baseline.
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