Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease often associated with a significant impairment in the quality of life of affected patients. The Italian Society of Dermatology and Venereology (SIDeMaST) planned a national information campaign, providing direct access to 27 dermatologic centers dedicated to the management of AD. The aim of this study aimed was to outline critical aspects related to AD in the general population. Overall, 643 adult subjects were included in this study, and in 44.2% (284/643) of cases, a diagnosis of AD was confirmed, whereas about 55% of subjects were affected by other pruritic cutaneous diseases. Higher intensity of pruritus and sleep disturbance, as well as an increased interference in sport, work, and social confidence was reported in the AD group compared to the non-AD group. In the AD subgroup, the mean duration of disease was of 15.3 years, with a mean eczema area and severity index (EASI) score of 11.2, and investigator global assessment (IGA) score of 1.9 and an itch numeric rating scale (NRS) of 6.9. Almost 32% of patients were untreated, either with topical or systemic agents, whereas 44.3% used routine topical compounds (topical corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors), and only 7.0% of patients were systemically treated. Only 2.8% of patients reported complete satisfaction with the treatment received for AD to date. This study reveals a profound unmet need in AD, showing a poorly managed and undertreated patient population despite a high reported burden of disease. This suggests the usefulness of information campaigns with the goal of improving patient awareness regarding AD and facilitating early diagnosis and access to dedicated healthcare institutions.

Background and Objectives: Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), as well as a wide range of rare skin tumors. NMSCs is the most frequently diagnosed type of tumor among Caucasians. We aimed at estimating the incidence and mortality of NMSCs in the Salento area (Lecce province, Southern Italy), whose population is assumed to experience heavy and frequent sun exposure due to climatic/environmental factors, both for working and leisure activities. Materials and Methods: We computed the incidence of NMSCs in the Province of Lecce by examining the comprehensive real-world data collected by the local cancer registry, which covers all the 830,000 inhabitants, over a period of fifteen years (from 2003 to 2017), with a focus on the latest 5 years (2013–2017) for the analysis of the different histologic morphologies of these tumors. The incidence of NMSCs has been described in terms of absolute frequencies, crude rates and age-adjusted direct standardized rates (DSR). Joinpoint analysis was used to examine temporal trends in the incidence of NMSCs and estimate annual percent changes (APCs). Results: During the period of 2003–2017, the incidence of NMSCs reached a direct standardized rate (DSR) of 162.62 per 100,000 in men (mortality 1.57 per 100,000) and 89.36 per 100,000 in women (mortality 0.52 per 100,000), respectively. The incidence significantly increased among both men and women across the entire period. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), with its different morphologies, represented about 67.6% of the NMSCs in men (n = 2139 out of a total of 3161 tumors observed between 2013 and 2017) and about 75.8% of the NMSCs in women (n = 1718 out of a total of 2264 tumors from 2013 to 2017), thus accounting for the vast majority of NMSCs. The results are consistent with the literature data carried out both at national and international level. Conclusions: Proper monitoring of this phenomenon through timely reporting and recording of all new NMSC cases is necessary to develop new preventive strategies.

Cutaneous melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers, and early diagnosis remains essential to reduce mortality. Reflectance Confocal Microscopy (RCM) provides non-invasive, quasi-histological images of the epidermis, dermoepidermal junction (DEJ), and dermis, enabling real-time assessment of melanocytic lesions. However, interpretation still relies on expert visual evaluation, which is time-consuming and subjective. In this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer-Assisted Detection (CAD) systems are emerging as valuable tools to improve diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility. This review summarizes research on AI applications in RCM imaging for melanoma, focusing on three major areas: delineation of skin strata, segmentation of tissues and morphological patterns, and classification of benign versus malignant lesions. Early approaches included Bayesian classifiers, wavelet-based decision trees, and logistic regression, while recent studies have employed support vector machines, random forests, and increasingly deep learning architectures such as convolutional and recurrent neural networks. The results demonstrate encouraging accuracy in DEJ localization, the segmentation of diagnostically relevant patterns, and the discrimination of melanoma from benign nevi. We distinguish the maturity of dermoscopy-based AI (AUC (ROC) > 0.80 on large multicenter cohorts) from the still-exploratory evidence for RCM-based AI. Nonetheless, current studies are often limited by small datasets, heterogeneous protocols, and a lack of multicenter validation. Overall, progress in AI applied to RCM supports the development of CAD systems that could assist clinicians during acquisition and diagnosis, reducing unnecessary biopsies and improving early melanoma detection. Future work should address standardization, dataset expansion, and the integration of advanced AI methods to move closer to clinical implementation.