mHealth Approaches in Managing Skin Cancer: Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Research Using Integrative Mapping

mHealth, which encompasses mobile health technologies and interventions, is rapidly evolving in various medical specialties, and its impact is evident in oncology. In particular, mHealth has established itself as a prominent part of dermatology for cancer screening. Intensified research to seek its use and effectiveness in each phase of the skin cancer continuum is needed in this fast-growing field of teledermatology.

The purpose of this review was to describe current trends in research addressing the integration of mHealth and its contributions across the skin cancer continuum.

A systematic review framework was applied to the search using three electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. We extensively reviewed appropriate studies regarding skin cancer and mobile technology published between 2007 and 2017. Studies of the role and impact of mobile technology in the prevention and management of skin cancer were included. We selected 18 studies adhering to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for analysis.

Of the 18 studies, 5 (28%) evaluated prevention interventions, 6 (33%) assessed diagnostic accuracy, and 7 (39%) pertained to feasibility in the context of mHealth approaches for skin cancer care. These studies portray the potential of mobile teledermatology in the prevention and management of skin cancer. However, not all phases of skin cancer involve mHealth, and not all have been addressed by research.

This review extends our knowledge not only on the contributions of mHealth technologies, but also on their integration in different phases of skin cancer care. To optimize the effectiveness of mHealth in dermatology, larger numbers of robust, evidence-based studies on teledermatology implementations, distributed evenly across the care continuum, should be conducted so that research can be expanded to systematic reviews.