Radiation Therapy Guided by the Reflectance Confocal Microscopy/Optimal Coherence Tomography Device for the Treatment of Early Stage Basal Cell Cancer
This phase II trial tests whether radiation therapy guided by the reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM)/optimal coherence tomography (OCT) device works in treating patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The most effective treatment for BCC is surgery, but this might not be an option for or the preference of all patients. The most effective non-surgical option is radiation therapy. A challenge with radiation therapy is being able to see all of the cancer cells that need to be treated, while identifying the ones that are healthy. In addition, it can be hard to see if any cancer remains after radiation therapy. If cancer cells remain after radiation therapy, surgery may be needed to remove remaining cancer cells. RCM and OCT are two imaging tools routinely used to identify the presence of skin cancer. RCM allows doctors to see which cells are healthy and which cells are cancerous and identify the outer edges of the tumor (the margin). OCT uses near-infrared light (invisible and deeply penetrating light) to see how deep cancer cells go. Using the RCM/OTC device to guide radiation therapy may help the radiation therapy be more precise in killing cancer cells and sparing healthy cells, and may also help prevent the need for additional treatments, such as surgery.