[8 min read] Detecting melanoma in high-risk patients | Prof David Wilkinson

This month I draw your attention to what I believe is a profoundly important piece of research. The research – done in Australia – demonstrates the value of using a mixture of total body photography (TBP) and selected sequential digital dermoscopy (SDDI) among high risk patients, in terms of identifying melanoma.

The authors state the following in the Abstract Results:

The risk of developing a new melanoma was 9.0% annually in the first 2 years and increased with time, particularly for those with multiple primary melanomas. The thicker melanomas (>1-mm Breslow thickness; 7 of 171 melanomas [4.1%]) were mostly desmoplastic or nodular (4 of 7), self-detected (2 of 7), or clinician detected without the aid of TBP (3 of 7).

Overall, new melanomas were most likely to be detected by a clinician with the aid of TBP (54 of 171 [31.6%]) followed by digital dermoscopy monitoring (50 of 171 [29.2%]).

Importantly, this work included a primary care clinic in Newcastle, NSW.

The implications are significant – implying that standard of care now for patients at high risk of melanoma includes TBP and SDDI.

The paper is linked here and there is very interesting podcast with the lead author available here, showcasing the research.

Prof David Wilkinson