4. Effects of keloid properties on treatment efficacy 97 4. INTRODUCTION Keloid, derived from ‘cheloides’, the Greek word for ‘crab’s claw,’ is a fibroproliferative scar that expands beyond the initial border of injury and rarely shows spontaneous regression. These pathological scars can cause severe pain, pruritus, and functional- or aesthetic complaints, which can decrease patients’ quality of life.1 The reported clinical efficacy of keloid treatments is highly variable, and may strongly depend on keloid- and patient characteristics. However, reaching consensus on a standardized keloid classification system based on the most relevant clinical properties remains challenging. Ideally, this classification should be based on high level evidence that shows the impact of specific properties on treatment efficacy. This could be a crucial step towards developing evidence-based guidelines for selecting the most efficacious treatment for individual keloid patients. However, to date, no systematic review has been performed to evaluate the evidence regarding the impact of different keloid properties on treatment efficacy. This systematic review aimed to assess the impact of the various keloid properties on treatment efficacy.
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