Disease State: Melasma
Background
Melasma is a configurate, patchy brown to dark gray pigmentation of the face that is often mediated by sun exposure and hormonal effects. Prevalence is worldwide, and across age groups, particularly among patients with darker skin types. While patients often find melasma distressing, disfiguring and stigmatizing, topical, oral and device treatments are variably effective, and assessment of treatment effects can be difficult to measure. A standardized core outcome set for melasma would facilitate research on this condition by allowing comparability of study results across sub-populations and geographic regions. Uniformity of study outcomes may also encourage meta-analyses of smaller studies, thereby enabling identification of better tolerated and more effective therapies.
Project Goal
A core outcome set for melasma may enable fine discrimination among outcomes, which may in turn allow precise comparison of the modestly efficacious treatments currently available. Use of a melasma outcome set may also guide optimization of new treatment approaches. We aim to develop a core outcome set by (1) identifying all current outcomes from a systematic review of literature; (2) involving other stakeholder groups such as other clinicians, and regulators to participate in identifying additional outcomes; (3) conducting Delphi consensus exercises on the identified outcomes; (4) presenting all results from the Delphi exercises during a face-to-face (if possible) consensus meeting to vote and agree upon a core set of outcomes important for melasma research.
Project Leads
Murad Alam
Key Project Team Members
Steering Committee
Murad Alam
Joseph Sobanko
Ian Maher
Todd V. Cartee
C3 Methods Partner
Jamie Kirkham
Contact
Murad Alam (m-alam@northwestern.edu)
Publications
Ibrahim SA, Kang BY, Schlessinger DI, et al. Protocol for development of a core outcome set for clinical trials in melasma. BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 4;12(2):e046953. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35121595/
Updated on May 1, 2022