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Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) shows promising potential to enhance human decision‐making as synergistic augmented intelligence (AuI), but requires critical evaluation for skin cancer screening in a real‐world setting. Objectives: To investigate the perspectives of patients and dermatologists after skin cancer screening by human, artificial and augmented intelligence. Methods: A prospective comparative cohort study conducted at the University Hospital Basel included 205 patients (at high‐risk of developing melanoma, with resected or advanced disease) and 8 dermatologists. Patients underwent skin cancer screening by a dermatologist with subsequent 2D and 3D total‐body photography (TBP). Any suspicious and all melanocytic skin lesions ≥3 mm were imaged with digital dermoscopes and classified by corresponding convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Excisions were performed based on dermatologist's melanoma suspicion, study‐defined elevated CNN risk‐scores and/or melanoma suspicion by AuI. Subsequently, all patients and dermatologists were surveyed about their experience using questionnaires, including quantification of patient's safety sense following different examinations (subjective safety score (SSS): 0–10). Results: Most patients believed AI could improve diagnostic performance (95.5%, n = 192/201). In total, 83.4% preferred AuI‐based skin cancer screening compared to examination by AI or dermatologist alone (3D‐TBP: 61.3%; 2D‐TBP: 22.1%, n = 199). Regarding SSS, AuI induced a significantly higher feeling of safety than AI (mean‐SSS (mSSS): 9.5 vs. 7.7, p < 0.0001) or dermatologist screening alone (mSSS: 9.5 vs. 9.1, p = 0.001). Most dermatologists expressed high trust in AI examination results (3D‐TBP: 90.2%; 2D‐TBP: 96.1%, n = 205). In 68.3% of the examinations, dermatologists felt that diagnostic accuracy improved through additional AI‐assessment (n = 140/205). Especially beginners (<2 years' dermoscopic experience; 61.8%, n = 94/152) felt AI facilitated their clinical work compared to experts (>5 years' dermoscopic experience; 20.9%, n = 9/43). Contrarily, in divergent risk assessments, only 1.5% of dermatologists trusted a benign CNN‐classification more than personal malignancy suspicion (n = 3/205). Conclusions: While patients already prefer AuI with 3D‐TBP for melanoma recognition, dermatologists continue to rely largely on their own decision‐making despite high confidence in AI‐results. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04605822). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a Phase 4 study evaluating the impact of apremilast on pruritus and quality of life in patients with moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis. Apremilast showed promise in treating scalp psoriasis symptoms, with 85.7% of patients experiencing a reduction in scalp pruritus and 64.3% showing an improvement in quality of life. While the study had limitations, it contributes valuable data supporting the use of apremilast for scalp psoriasis treatment, especially for patients who do not respond well to other therapies. The study highlights the importance of treating scalp psoriasis and the potential benefits of apremilast in managing this condition. [Extracted from the article]

Real-world data on the effectiveness and safety of tildrakizumab, an interleukin 23p19 inhibitor, in Switzerland is limited. The objectives of this analysis were to assess the effectiveness and safety of tildrakizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Switzerland. Twenty-eight adults from the Swiss Dermatology Network for Targeted Therapies registry (SDNTT), who were on tildrakizumab treatment and had at least 3 months' follow-up, were enrolled in this prospective, multicentre study. No missing data imputation was performed. The median Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) decreased from 9.5 at baseline to 2.1 and 0.3 (both p < 0.001) after 3 and 18 months, respectively, of tildrakizumab treatment. After 3 months, 76.9%/30.8% patients reached an absolute PASI < 3/ < 1. These rates increased to 85.7%/57.1% after 18 months of treatment. The proportions of patients achieving PASI 90/100 responses were 47.8%/30.4% at month 6 and 42.9%/14.3% at month 18. A significant improvement in quality of life up to 18 months of follow-up was observed as measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index. There were no treatment discontinuations due to adverse events. This real-world registry provides robust evidence supporting the long-term effectiveness and favourable safety profile of tildrakizumab in treating patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The worldwide incidence of melanoma has been increasing rapidly in recent decades with Switzerland having one of the highest rates in Europe. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one of the main risk factors for skin cancer. Our objective was to investigate UV protective behavior and melanoma awareness in a high-risk cohort for melanoma. Methods: In this prospective monocentric study, we assessed general melanoma awareness and UV protection habits in at-risk patients (≥100 nevi, ≥5 dysplastic nevi, known CDKN2A mutation, and/or positive family history) and melanoma patients using questionnaires. Results: Between 01/2021 and 03/ 2022, a total of 269 patients (53.5% at-risk patients, 46.5% melanoma patients) were included. We observed a significant trend toward using a higher sun protection factor (SPF) in melanoma patients compared with at-risk patients (SPF 50+: 48% [n=60] vs. 26% [n=37]; p=0.0016). Those with a college or university degree used a high SPF significantly more often than patients with lower education levels (p=0.0007).However, higher educational levels correlated with increased annual sun exposure (p=0.041). Neither a positive family history for melanoma, nor gender or Fitzpatrick skin type influenced sun protection behavior. An age of ≥ 50 years presented as a significant risk factor for melanoma development with an odd’s ratio of 2.32. Study participation resulted in improved sun protection behavior with 51% reporting more frequent sunscreen use after study inclusion. Discussion: UV protection remains a critical factor in melanoma prevention. We suggest that melanoma awareness should continue to be raised through public skin cancer prevention campaigns with a particular focus on individuals with low levels of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy-associated changes in melanocytic nevi (MN), apart from size increase on the trunk, remain a topic of debate. We conducted the first prospective study to investigate dermoscopic changes in MN comparing pregnant with non-pregnant women on all body parts using a market-approved convolutional neural network (CNN). We included 25 pregnant and 25 non-pregnant women from Basel, Switzerland, who underwent standard skin cancer screenings and whose MN > 2 mm were digitally recorded and analysed by a CNN. Pregnant women were examined three times: in the first and third trimester and 8-12 weeks postpartum; non-pregnant women twice in an interval of 17-21 weeks. We analysed 2,799 MN. In pregnant women, diameter[p < 0.001], area[p < 0.001], number of colours [p = 0.009], shape asymmetry[p = 0.005] and border sharpness[p = 0.006] (inversely proportional value) increased while ellipseness [p < 0.001] decreased from first trimester to postpartum. Changes occurred mainly during the third trimester to postpartum. Compared to non-pregnant women (only first to third trimester) MN on the upper extremities of pregnant women increased in area[p = 0.011] and diameter[p = 0.025] and decreased in ellipseness[p = 0.037]. MN on the lower extremities increased in area[p = 0.044] and MN on the back increased in colour asymmetry[p = 0.022].

Introduction: Skin cancer, a prevalent cancer type among fair-skinned patients globally, poses a relevant public health concern due to rising incidence rates. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation poses a major risk factor for skin cancer. However, intentional tanning associated with sunburns remains a common practice, notably among female adults. Appropriate prevention campaigns targeting children and adolescents are needed to improve sun protection behavior particularly in these age groups. The aim of our study was to investigate if an AI-based simulation of facial skin aging can enhance sun protection behavior in female adults., Methods: In this single-center, prospective, observational pilot study at Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital of Basel, we took photographs of healthy young females' faces with a VISIA-CR camera (Version 8.2; Canfield Scientific Inc., Parsippany, NJ, USA) between February and March 2021. Digital images were performed in three angles (straight, left 45°, and right 45°). All participants received an AI-based simulation of their facial skin with continuous aging to 80 years. A newly created anonymous questionnaire capturing participants' sociodemographic data and also tanning and sun protection behavior was completed in pre- and post-aging simulation. To observe long-term effects, a 2-year follow-up was conducted between March and April 2023., Results: The 60 participants (mean age 23.6 ± 2.5 years) evaluated the importance of sun protection significantly higher after skin aging simulation with VISIA-CR camera (p < 0.0001; 95% CI: 8.2-8.8). Post-intervention, 91.7% (55/60) of the females were motivated to reduce UV exposure and to intensify UV protection in the future since the individual UV-dependent risk was perceived significantly higher (p < 0.001; 95% CI: 5.9-6.7). At 2-year follow-up, 96% (24/25) indicated persistent effort reducing UV exposure. The preference for SPF 50+ sunscreen increased to 46.7% (28/65) directly after the skin aging simulation and continued to rise up to 60.0% (15/25) after 2 years., Conclusions: Our data emphasize the potential of AI-assisted photoaging interventions to enhance motivation for UV protection in the short and the long term. We encourage that different age and gender groups are addressed in a personalized, generation-specific manner with the appropriate media and by considering the Hawthorne effect. Campaigns with visual AI support can improve the intent of cancer-preventative behavior., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)