Cosmetic Outcome Assessment following Breast-Conserving Therapy: A Comparison between BCCT.core Software and Panel Evaluation.Purpose.  The present study compared the strengths and weaknesses of the BCCT.core software with a 10-member panel from various backgrounds.  All photographs were objectively evaluated using the BCCT.core software (version 20), and an overall cosmetic outcome score was reached using a four-point Likert scale.  Based on the mean BCCT.core software score, 41% of all patients had fair or poor overall cosmetic results (10% poor), compared with 51% (14% poor) obtained with panel evaluation.  Mean overall BCCT.core score and mean overall panel score substantially agreed (weighted kappa: 0.68).  By contrast, analysis of the evaluation of scar tissue revealed large discrepancies between the BCCT.core software and the panel.  The analysis of subgroups formed from different combinations of the panel members still showed substantial agreement with the BCCT.core software (range 0.64-0.69), independent of personal background.  Although the analysis of scar tissue by the software shows room for improvement, the BCCT.core represents a valid and efficient alternative to panel evaluation.
BCCT.core
Cosmetic Outcome Assessment following Breast-Conserving Therapy: A Comparison between BCCT.core Software and Panel Evaluation.Purpose.  The present study compared the strengths and weaknesses of the BCCT.core software with a 10-member panel from various backgrounds.  All photographs were objectively evaluated using the BCCT.core software (version 20), and an overall cosmetic outcome score was reached using a four-point Likert scale.  Based on the mean BCCT.core software score, 41% of all patients had fair or poor overall cosmetic results (10% poor), compared with 51% (14% poor) obtained with panel evaluation.  By contrast, analysis of the evaluation of scar tissue revealed large discrepancies between the BCCT.core software and the panel.  The analysis of subgroups formed from different combinations of the panel members still showed substantial agreement with the BCCT.core software (range 0.64-0.69), independent of personal background. 
BCCT.core Software