Basal Cell Carcinoma Follow-Up Study

Project summary

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in the Netherlands (approximately 40,000 people develop a first BCC annually) and the incidence continues to increase by 5% per year. The BCC is a slow growing tumour which almost never metastases.

The Dutch BCC guideline recommends that annual checks are only necessary for high-risk BCC patients. It is estimated that about 70% of the BCCs are low risk. This large group of patients does not need an annual skin check by the dermatologist. The guideline does recommend giving a generic information leaflet and instructing the patient on self-examining their skin.  The best feasible strategy to reduce the amount of low-value follow-up visits seemed to provide personalised information for these patients.

The B-FUS project aims to reduce the number of check-ups of patients after low-risk basal cell carcinoma at the dermatologist, while not reducing the patient satisfaction.