Patient Preferences for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma: A Mapping Review of Discrete Choice Experiments.

Abstract

Treatment options for skin cancer differ in several attributes including efficacy, convenience, cost, scarring, and side effects. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) provide insight into how patients value the attributes of their treatment options. To review published DCE data on skin cancer treatment. PubMed database was systematically searched using predefined keyword combinations for articles pertaining to skin cancer treatment and DCEs through October 2017. Three hundred seventy unique article titles were evaluated, and titles that did not mention skin cancer treatment were excluded leaving 44 studies. Abstracts of 44 studies were examined, and studies that used DCEs to query preference for skin cancer treatment were included in this mapping review. Six articles that used DCEs to query patient preference for skin cancer treatment were reviewed. All DCE studies identified focused on basal cell carcinoma. Discrete choice experiments are a rigorous method of eliciting patient preference for skin cancer surgery. Recurrence was the most important attribute in 4 of the 6 studies reviewed. Appearance was the most important attribute in 1 study and the second most important in 3 studies. Comparisons between studies are limited by the heterogeneity of the treatment attributes and levels included in DCEs.