A new study found that rhenium-188 resin skin cancer treatment caused significantly less pain than surgery for non-melanoma skin cancer.

In the pilot study published in Healthcare, researchers evaluated the patient experience of resin skin cancer treatment (RSCT) versus traditional surgical methods for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). They found that the aesthetic outcomes were comparable between the two treatments, and patients feared RSCT significantly less than surgery.

Nineteen patients with non-melanoma skin cancer received RSCT. Their experiences were evaluated against those who had undergone surgery, focusing on parameters such as side effects, aesthetic outcomes, wound care, fear of complications, and treatment preferences. A questionnaire assessed these parameters on a scale from 0 to 10.

RSCT resulted in less pain on the day of treatment (mean, 0.56 vs. 2.32; P = .02) and 14 days post-treatment (mean, 0.89 vs. 2.47; P = .02) compared to surgery. Patients reported a greater fear of complications before undergoing surgery compared to RSCT (mean, 2.28 vs. 1.11; P = .04). Fourteen days post-treatment, lesions treated with RSCT were less itchy than those treated with surgery (mean, 0.34 vs. 1.50). Aesthetic outcomes were similar between the two treatments, with patients expressing high levels of satisfaction for both RSCT (mean, 8.42) and surgery (mean, 8.31; P = .89). For future NMSC treatment, 44% of patients preferred RSCT, 31% would consider both options, and only 19% preferred surgery.

The study's findings showed that RSCT was associated with significantly lower pain levels while maintaining comparable aesthetic outcomes to surgery.

The study, led by Dr. Julia K. Tietze and Dr. Maila I. C. Krönert at the University Medical Center Rostock, received ethics committee approval, with the authors declaring no financial support, though some received honoraria and travel support from Oncobeta® GmbH.