Reliability of Self-Reported Information on Skin Cancer Among Elderly Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate reliability of self-reported information on skin cancer among individuals aged >65 years with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods: A test-retest was performed with patients completing two questionnaires one month apart. Results: Among 102 recruited patients the response rate was 97.1% (mean age 80.9 years, 74.8% men). The majority of items showed substantial agreement: history of skin cancer screening (k=0.88), past skin cancer in general (k=0.92), basal cell carcinoma (k=0.75), patient delay (k=0.64) and total delay (k=0.86). Agreement was high also for ages >80 years. Recall of past SCCs (k=0.48) and sunscreen use (k=0.38) was less accurate. Conclusions: Our study provided evidence on the reliability of patient reported skin cancer information among elderly individuals, who represent the majority of affected cases.