Dermatologic complaints prolong hospital stay for hematologic cancer

May 30, 2018|Hematology News

FROM THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY

In the dermatology consult, biopsy was employed for diagnosis in only 18%. As for treatment, 42% received topical therapy alone, and 38% received a systemic therapy. Dermatologic consultations that subsequently involved consultation with another service such as allergy and immunology, were rare, occurring in only 4% of cases.

Previous studies also have found a dermatologic consultation to be associated with increased morbidity and a longer length of hospital stay, according to the investigators, who were led by senior author Mario E. Lacouture, MD, director of the oncodermatology program at the center. The findings of this study underline the substantial burden associated with dermatologic complaints in patients with cancer in general and those with hematologic malignancies, specifically.

Furthermore, they suggested that the data support increased attention to dermatologic complications in cancer. Although the impact of consultations on outcome was not evaluated in this study, the authors cited another recent study in which there was a more than 2-day reduction in hospital stay when a dermatology consultation was employed in noncancer patients with an inflammatory skin disease (JAMA Dermatol. 2017 Jun 1;153[6]:523-8). Moreover, they speculated that a prompt resolution of dermatologic complaints in cancer patients has implications for better outcomes if they result in fewer delays in anti-cancer therapy.

The study was partly funded by the a grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Centers Program. Dr. Lacouture reported financial relationships with AstraZeneca, Adgero Biopharmaceuticals, Berg, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Foamix, Janssen, Legacy Healthcare, NovoCure, and Quintiles. Another author reported ties with Amgen, Roche, Eaisi, and P Value Communications.

SOURCE: Phillips GS et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2018 Jun;78(6):1102-9.