Page 60 - Noninvasive Diagnostic Techniques for the Detection of Skin Cancers

Appendix D. Evidence Maps and Outcome Measures

a
Table D-1. Evidence map of published abstracts for noninvasive diagnostic devices by clinical use status (N=583 )
Reviews (N=232) Primary Studies (N=351)
Single
Narrative Technical Systematic Comparative Non-comparative Diagnostic
Noninvasive technologies RCT case
reviews reports reviews cohorts cohorts tests reports

Modalities in general clinical use
b
Photography 4 4 -- 7 11 13 5 -
Dermoscopy 78 71 5 3 39 96 52 49
Subtotal 81 74 5 10 50 109 57 49
Modalities in limited clinical use
Confocal microscopy 17 12 -- -- 6 26 7 4
Ultrasound/Laser Doppler 6 12 -- -- 2 7 7 --
Photodynamic diagnosis 9 7 -- 1 4 -- -- 1
Subtotal 32 31 0 1 12 33 14 5
Investigational
Multiphoton laser scanning 3 -- -- -- -- -- 2 --
microscopy
Multispectral imaging and
c
fully automated computer- 1 -- -- -- -- -- 1 --
based analysis
Electrical bio-impedance -- -- -- -- 1 2 2 --
Optical coherence 1 2 -- -- 1 1 -- --
tomography
Tape stripping -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 --
Thermography 1 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Subtotal 6 2 0 0 2 3 6 0

Total 119 108 5 11 64 144 77 55
a Subset of 629 abstracts designated as either a review article or primary study focusing on a single diagnostic modality, some review articles have been counted in more than one
category, therefore , the individual numbers may not sum up to the subtotal.
b 6 unique RCTs produced 7 individual abstracts.
c Review also covered other topics (e.g., dermoscopy).

D-1