Melanoma Detection by Non-Specialists: An Untapped Potential for Triage?

Autor: Carmen Cantisani, Luca Ambrosio, Carlotta Cucchi, Fanni Adél Meznerics, Norbert Kiss, András Bánvölgyi, Federica Rega, Flavia Grignaffini, Francesco Barbuto, Fabrizio Frezza, Giovanni Pellacani
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Diagnostics, Vol 12, Iss 11, p 2821 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2075-4418
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12112821
Popis: Introduction: The incidence of melanoma increased considerably in recent decades, representing a significant public health problem. We aimed to evaluate the ability of non-specialists for the preliminary screening of skin lesions to identify melanoma-suspect lesions. Materials and Methods: A medical student and a dermatologist specialist examined the total body scans of 50 patients. Results: The agreement between the expert and the non-specialist was 87.75% (κ = 0.65) regarding the assessment of clinical significance. The four parameters of the ABCD rule were evaluated on the 129 lesions rated as clinically significant by both observers. Asymmetry was evaluated similarly in 79.9% (κ = 0.59), irregular borders in 74.4% (κ = 0.50), color in 81.4% (κ = 0.57), and diameter in 89.9% (κ = 0.77) of the cases. The concordance of the two groups was 96.9% (κ = 0.83) in the case of the detection of the Ugly Duckling Sign. Conclusions: Although the involvement of GPs is part of routine care worldwide, emphasizing the importance of educating medical students and general practitioners is crucial, as many European countries lack structured melanoma screening training programs targeting non-dermatologists.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals