Clinical trial · Interventional
Reflectance Confocal Microscopy in Basal Cell Carcinoma
In Vivo Reflectance Confocal Microscopy, a Novel Non-invasive Tool for Diagnosing Skin Cancer - A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Skin cancer is the most common cancer and its incidence is increasing rapidly. The rising number of skin cancer may result in long waiting lists for consultation at departments for dermatological care and in increasing health care costs. In case of suspicion on skin cancer it is of utmost importance to diagnose and treat in an early phase, preferable in a patient friendly manner. Skin cancer comprises melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its precursors actinic keratosis (AK) and Bowen disease). As BCC is the most common skin cancer type with an estimated incidence of 51,000 new tumors in 2015 (The Netherlands), this study will focus on this skin cancer type. In case of suspicion on BCC, at present, the pathological examination of a biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing a BCC. With the implementation of non invasive diagnosis by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in routine patient care settings the diagnosis can be assessed at the first consultation in a non-invasive way and the patient can be treated instantly. Overall, the aim of this study is to investigate whether reflectance confocal microscopy can correctly identify the subtype of basal cell carcinoma. Study design: Randomized controlled trail. Comparison with usual care: punch biopsy and excision.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carcinoma, Basal Cell | Basal Cell Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (3)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punch biopsy | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Reflectance confocal microscopy | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Surgical excision | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Standard of care procedure
- description
- Clinical suspected basal cell carcinomas, of all subtypes, will be diagnosed by conventional 3mm punch biopsy of the most clinical suspicious part of the lesion. Punch biopsies will be performed under local anesthetics using 1% xylocaine/adrenaline. Hematoxylin/eosin stained sections of the punch biopsies will be evaluated by an experienced pathologist. Subjects will receive surgical excision according to subtype. When there is any doubt by reflectance confocal microscopic diagnosis, a punch biopsy will also be obtained and the lesion will be excized when the biopsy reveals a basal cell carcinoma.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Punch biopsy
- Procedure: Surgical excision
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM)
- description
- The Vivascope 1500 and Vivascope 3000 (handheld divice) will be used (CE certified, Lucid Technologies, Henrietta, NY, USA). Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) imaging will be performed on clinical suspected basal cell carcinomas, of all subtypes. When there are signs of a basal cell carcinoma imaged by RCM, subjects will receive surgical excision according to subtype. When there is any doubt by RCM diagnosis, a punch biopsy will also be obtained and the lesion will be excized when the biopsy reveals a basal cell carcinoma.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must be able to adhere to all requirements of the study * Patients must be willing to give written informed consent * Clinically diagnosed/ clinical suspicion of basal cell carcinoma Exclusion Criteria: * Participating in other investigational research currently or in the previous 28 days before the study * Patient is having a medical condition which excludes participating the research, according to the investigator * Incapacitated subjects will not be included * Lesion(s) on parts of the body which do not allow to adequately image the tumour with RCM.
References
Publications (10)
- BACKGROUNDFlohil SC, de Vries E, Neumann HA, Coebergh JW, Nijsten T. Incidence, prevalence and future trends of primary basal cell carcinoma in the Netherlands. Acta Derm Venereol. 2011 Jan;91(1):24-30. doi: 10.2340/00015555-1009. PMID 21264452
- BACKGROUNDFlohil SC, van der Leest RJ, Dowlatshahi EA, Hofman A, de Vries E, Nijsten T. Prevalence of actinic keratosis and its risk factors in the general population: the Rotterdam Study. J Invest Dermatol. 2013 Aug;133(8):1971-8. doi: 10.1038/jid.2013.134. Epub 2013 Mar 19. PMID 23510990
- BACKGROUNDHousman TS, Feldman SR, Williford PM, Fleischer AB Jr, Goldman ND, Acostamadiedo JM, Chen GJ. Skin cancer is among the most costly of all cancers to treat for the Medicare population. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003 Mar;48(3):425-9. doi: 10.1067/mjd.2003.186. PMID 12637924
- BACKGROUNDWolberink EA, Pasch MC, Zeiler M, van Erp PE, Gerritsen MJ. High discordance between punch biopsy and excision in establishing basal cell carcinoma subtype: analysis of 500 cases. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2013 Aug;27(8):985-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2012.04628.x. Epub 2012 Jul 3. PMID 22759209
- BACKGROUNDPeppelman M, Wolberink EA, Blokx WA, van de Kerkhof PC, van Erp PE, Gerritsen MJ. In vivo diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma subtype by reflectance confocal microscopy. Dermatology. 2013;227(3):255-62. doi: 10.1159/000354762. Epub 2013 Oct 18. PMID 24158236
- BACKGROUNDPeppelman M, Wolberink EA, Koopman RJ, van Erp PE, Gerritsen MJ. In vivo Reflectance Confocal Microscopy: A Useful Tool to Select the Location of a Punch Biopsy in a Large, Clinically Indistinctive Lesion. Case Rep Dermatol. 2013 Apr 25;5(1):129-32. doi: 10.1159/000351258. Print 2013 Jan. PMID 23687492
- BACKGROUNDPeppelman M, Nguyen KP, Hoogedoorn L, van Erp PE, Gerritsen MJ. Reflectance confocal microscopy: non-invasive distinction between actinic keratosis and squamous cell carcinoma. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2015 Jul;29(7):1302-9. doi: 10.1111/jdv.12806. Epub 2014 Oct 30.