In patients attending a general dermatology practice, most melanomas diagnosed during a 3-year period were not the presenting complaint, but were only discovered because a dermatologist performed a full-body skin examination, according to a recent report.
Such melanomas, discovered incidentally during an unrelated office visit, were more likely to be thinner or in-situ lesions than those that were inquired about by the patient or someone who observed them on the patient, said Dr. Jonathan Kantor and Deborah E. Kantor, C.R.N.P., of North Florida Dermatology Associates, Jacksonville.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has stated that current evidence is insufficient to recommend either for or against routine full-body melanoma screening, and previous studies of patients in tertiary referral centers have reported that physicians detect only 14%–34% of melanomas.
“Our aim was to determine the proportion of patients in a private dermatology practice in whom melanoma was detected but was not the presenting complaint. If a substantial proportion of melanomas are detected only after a dermatologist's examination, this may suggest that FBSE [full-body skin examination], and not simply a problem-focused approach, should at least be considered for selected patients,” the researchers said (Arch. Dermatol. 2009;145:873–6).
The findings also “may help to promote education and encourage future patients to avail themselves of full-body skin examination,” they added.
The investigators performed a retrospective case series of all patients diagnosed as having melanoma (51 cases) or melanoma in situ (75 cases) during a 3-year period. Patients were aged 15–92 years (mean age, 60 years).
A total of 56% of melanomas were discovered by a dermatologist and had not been noted by the patient, a spouse, a friend, or another physician. Similarly, 60% of the melanomas in situ were discovered by a dermatologist, they said.
“Moreover, we found that dermatologist detection was associated with thinner melanomas and an increasing likelihood of the melanoma being in-situ,” they said.
“Thus, full-body skin examinations confer both an absolute benefit (detecting most melanomas) as well as a clinically significant marginal benefit (detecting melanomas with less tumor thickness). We hope that these findings will help spur large population-based studies in high-risk populations to develop an evidence-based approach to determining appropriate screening practices and intervals,” the investigators added.
The researchers reported no financial disclosures.