5 Highlights From the Dermatology Times Cutaneous Oncology Workshop

The inaugural Dermatology Times NP/PA Connect Cutaneous Oncology Workshop brought advanced practice providers and dermatology experts together in Tampa, Florida, on September 12 for a full day of education focused on the evolving landscape of skin cancer care.

Through expert presentations, case-based discussions, audience Q&As, and hands-on training, faculty explored practical considerations spanning prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and multidisciplinary management.

Here are 5 highlights from the workshop.

1. Skin Cancer Prevention Goes Beyond Sunscreen

Prevention and early detection were central themes throughout the workshop. Faculty discussed traditional photoprotection alongside additional strategies, including sun-protective clothing and oral agents such as nicotinamide.

The conversation also extended to actinic keratoses (AKs), where treating field cancerization rather than only individual visible lesions may help address broader areas of photodamage. Treatment selection requires clinicians to consider efficacy alongside factors such as tolerability, treatment duration, cost, and patient preferences.

Read more: Field-Directed Therapy Favored for Actinic Keratosis Management

2. Recognizing High-Risk Disease Requires Looking Beyond the Lesion

Sessions on diagnosis and staging highlighted the clinical and histopathologic features that can influence risk across basal cell carcinoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma.

Faculty also discussed the importance of family history and patterns of skin cancer that may warrant consideration of an underlying genetic predisposition. Emerging tools, including gene expression profiling and circulating tumor DNA, were explored as potential additions to risk assessment while questions remain about how they should be incorporated into routine practice.

3. Hands-On Training Put Procedural Skills Into Practice

Attendees had an opportunity to move from discussion to practice during a hands-on suturing workshop.

Using individual procedural kits, participants practiced techniques alongside faculty while discussing practical considerations surrounding wound closure. The session added an interactive component to a program otherwise spanning the full spectrum of cutaneous oncology care.

4. Immunotherapy Is Expanding the Dermatology Clinician's Role

As immune checkpoint inhibitors become increasingly important in oncology, dermatology clinicians may encounter a growing range of cutaneous immune-related adverse events.

Faculty reviewed presentations including eczema, psoriasis, pruritus, lichenoid dermatitis, and bullous pemphigoid, as well as rare severe cutaneous adverse reactions. Early recognition and appropriate management can be particularly important because controlling manageable toxicities may help some patients continue potentially beneficial anticancer treatment.

Read more: From Immunotherapy to Radiation, Experts Navigate Treatment and Toxicity in Cutaneous Oncology

5. Collaboration Is Essential Across the Skin Cancer Care Continuum

One theme connected nearly every session: Cutaneous oncology increasingly requires collaboration.

Depending on the disease and patient, care may involve APPs, dermatologists, Mohs surgeons, dermatopathologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, genetic counselors, and other specialists.

Knowing when to involve another clinician—and maintaining communication as patients move between specialties—can be just as important as recognizing the disease itself.

Read more: The Value of Clinician Collaboration for Skin Cancer Care

From preventing and identifying early disease to navigating advanced therapies, the workshop demonstrated the increasingly broad role APPs play throughout the skin cancer care continuum.