Skin Cancer Screenings

Self-Detection Not As Effective As Physician Screening For Spotting Melanoma Early.

The Star-Ledger (7/19, Livio) reports that "even high-risk patients have a better chance of beating skin cancer the sooner they see a dermatologist. While the researchers noted many people know enough about the dangers of skin cancer to check their skin periodically, physicians are much better at noticing subtle changes."

        HealthDay (7/18, Dallas) reported, "Melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, can be found by patients themselves, but new research reveals that self-detection is not as effective as screenings performed by doctors," according to a study published online July 18 in the Archives of Dermatology. For the study, researchers "found that in addition to higher rates of physician-detected melanomas, doctors also are more likely to detect thinner lesions, or cancers in the earliest stages."

        MedPage Today (7/18, Bankhead) reported that, in a review identifying 527 melanomas detected in 394 patients over the course of a decade, "dermatologists identified 76% of more than 500 primary melanomas, including 84% of lesions in established patients." Notably, "dermatologists detected almost 80% of in-situ lesions, and the clinician-identified lesions were 40% thinner than patient-detected melanomas." Nevertheless, the study authors emphasized that self-examination by patients is critical to diagnosing melanomas early. They concluded that "educating patients on recognizing melanoma signs and symptoms by performing skin self-examination can have a notable impact on early diagnosis of melanoma."

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