Store-and-Forward Teledermatology for Assessing Skin Cancer in 2023: Literature Review

Abstract

Background: The role of teledermatology for skin lesion assessment has been a recent development, particularly, since the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability to assess patients in person. The growing number of studies relating to this area reflects the evolving interest.

Objective: This literature review aims to analyze the available research on store-and-forward teledermatology for skin lesion assessment.

Methods: MEDLINE was searched for papers from January 2010 to November 2021. Papers were searched for assessment of time management, effectiveness, and image quality.

Results: The reported effectiveness of store-and-forward teledermatology for skin lesion assessment produces heterogeneous results likely due to significant procedure variations. Most studies show high accuracy and diagnostic concordance of teledermatology compared to in-person dermatologist assessment and histopathology. This is improved through the use of teledermoscopy. Most literature shows that teledermatology reduces time to advice and definitive treatment compared to outpatient clinic assessment.

Conclusions: Overall, teledermatology offers a comparable standard of effectiveness to in-person assessment. It can save significant time in expediting advice and management. Image quality and inclusion of dermoscopy have a considerable bearing on the overall effectiveness.

Keywords: basal cell carcinoma; cancer; dermoscopy; melanoma; mobile phone; skin cancer; skin neoplasm; squamous cell carcinoma; store-and-forward; telemedicine.