Abstract 3663: A digital health solution for monitoring skin toxicities in cancer treatment
Authors: Ramya sita Palacholla, Ali Soltani, Josep A. Pous, Monika Dutkiewicz-piasecka, Debra Carter, Elisabeth Piault-Louis
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Introduction: Skin toxicities such as maculo-papular rash, xerosis, or pruritis, can hinder the optimal dosing of immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapies1-4. Their management is primarily palliative and prompted by patients’ report of skin symptoms or impact on their activities of daily living (ADL). A digital product for the collection, transfer and visualization of data relevant to skin toxicities could contribute to early identification and palliative management and ultimately decreased morbidity for patients between clinic visits. Methods: A review of the published literature and clinical expert interviews (n=8) informed the content of a digital product. Behavioral psychology, measurement and data science drove the design of the interfaces and functionalities with a focus on user-engagement and on supporting diversity. Patients (n=20) receiving anticancer therapies and clinicians (oncologists and nurses, n=8) participated in qualitative user testing of the instructions, question flow, response options, educational material and disclaimers to document comprehension and usage. Results: Key determinants in identifying and reporting skin symptoms include the actual hue of the skin and the body location and surface affected by the skin manifestation(s). The app supports selection of the closest match to the user skin tone; then the patients access tone-matched pictures from an AI-generated library of skin lesions as relevant references to report and rate symptoms severity. A 3D interactive body avatar allows participants to zoom, record and annotate the symptom(s) location and extent. Patient-captured pictures of the skin lesions are automatically anonymized by an AI- photo processing to ensure patient privacy. The HCP portal provides an easy visualization of patient-reported symptoms and pictures within context of ADL impact and patient’s skin history. The digital solution includes a symptom-worsening alert to nudge a discussion between the patient and clinician. In addition, patients receive non-medical tips to self-manage non-severe symptoms to prevent higher morbidity. Most patients appreciated personalizing the app based on their skin tone. Content was easy to understand yet adapted on rewording suggestions. Tracking skin symptoms was seen as enabler of more precise discussions with clinicians and the main intrinsic usage driver. Clinicians were positive of the potential for useful insights into patients' skin status. HCPs reflected on a positive tradeoff between lower risk of significant morbidity and additional workload. Conclusion: The digital solution features several innovative components for reliable and sustained data capture of the onset and evolution of skin symptoms providing relevant insight for the remote monitoring of patient at risk of skin toxicities; Further research will inform its clinical validity and utility. Citation Format: Ramya sita Palacholla, Ali Soltani, Josep A. Pous, Monika Dutkiewicz-piasecka, Debra Carter, Elisabeth Piault-Louis. A digital health solution for monitoring skin toxicities in cancer treatment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 3663.