A Novel Actinic Keratosis Field Assessment Scale for Grading Actinic Keratosis Disease Severity

Authors

  • Brigitte Dréno
  • Rino Cerio
  • Thomas Dirschka
  • Ignasi Figueras Nart
  • John T. Lear
  • Ketty Peris
  • Andrés Ruiz de Casas
  • Shaniko Kaleci
  • Giovanni Pellacani
  • Progressing Evidence in AK (PEAK) Working Group

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-2710

Keywords:

actinic keratosis, field cancerization, grading scale

Abstract

Actinic keratosis (AK) lesions are surrounded by field cancerization (areas of subclinical, non-visible sun damage). Existing AK grading tools rely on AK counts, which are not reproducible. An Actinic Keratosis Field Assessment Scale (AK-FAS) for grading the severity of AK/field was developed. Standardized photographs of patients representing the full range of AK severity were collected. Six investigators independently rated each photograph according to 3 criteria: AK area (total skin area affected by AK lesions), hyperkeratosis and sun damage. Inter-rater reproducibility was good for all 3 criteria. Validation of the AK-FAS showed good reproducibility for AK area and hyperkeratosis, even for dermatologists untrained on use of the scale. In conclusion, the AK-FAS is objective, easy to use and implement, and reproducible. It incorporates assessment of the entire field affected by AK instead of relying on lesion counts. Use of the AK-FAS may standardize AK diagnosis, making it relevant to routine clinical practice

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2017-06-22

How to Cite

Dréno, B., Cerio, R., Dirschka, T., Figueras Nart, I., Lear, J. T., Peris, K., Ruiz de Casas, A., Kaleci, S., Pellacani, G., & in AK (PEAK) Working Group, P. E. (2017). A Novel Actinic Keratosis Field Assessment Scale for Grading Actinic Keratosis Disease Severity. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 97(9), 1108–1113. https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-2710

Issue

Section

Articles