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- Title
Comparison of Extended Skin Cancer Screening Using a Three-Step Advanced Imaging Programme vs. Standard-of-Care Examination in a High-Risk Melanoma Patient Cohort.
- Authors
Gellrich, Frank Friedrich; Eberl, Nadia; Steininger, Julian; Meier, Friedegund; Beissert, Stefan; Hobelsberger, Sarah
- Abstract
Simple Summary: This study explored advanced diagnostic methods that are used for identifying skin cancer in high-risk melanoma patients. A total of 410 patients were examined using a combination of three advanced imaging techniques: 3D total body photography, digital dermoscopy, and reflectance confocal microscopy. These methods were used in addition to regular skin exams. Results showed that the specialized imaging detected 16 melanomas in 39 removed pigmented lesions, while regular exams detected only 7 melanomas in 163 removed lesions. This indicates that specialized imaging was much more efficient. Each imaging method found melanomas that the others did not. The study concludes that combining these three imaging techniques improves melanoma detection and reduces unnecessary skin removals in high-risk patients. Modern diagnostic procedures, such as three-dimensional total body photography (3D-TBP), digital dermoscopy (DD), and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), can improve melanoma diagnosis, particularly in high-risk patients. This study assessed the benefits of combining these advanced imaging techniques in a three-step programme in managing high-risk patients. This study included 410 high-risk melanoma patients who underwent a specialised imaging consultation in addition to their regular skin examinations in outpatient care. At each visit, the patients underwent a 3D-TBP, a DD for suspicious findings, and an RCM for unclear DD findings. The histological findings of excisions initiated based on imaging consultation and outpatient care were compared. Imaging consultation detected sixteen confirmed melanomas (eight invasive and eight in situ) in 39 excised pigmented lesions. Outpatient care examination detected seven confirmed melanomas (one invasive and six in situ) in 163 excised melanocytic lesions. The number needed to excise (NNE) in the imaging consultation was significantly lower than that in the outpatient care (2.4 vs. 23.3). The NNE was 2.6 for DD and 2.3 for RCM. DD, 3D-TBP, or RCM detected melanomas that were not detected by the other imaging methods. The three-step imaging programme improves melanoma detection and reduces the number of unnecessary excisions in high-risk patients.
- Subjects
GERMANY; PHYSICAL diagnosis; BIOPSY; SKIN tumors; DIAGNOSTIC imaging; ACADEMIC medical centers; OUTPATIENT services in hospitals; THREE-dimensional imaging; RESEARCH funding; EARLY detection of cancer; PHOTOGRAPHY; LONGITUDINAL method; SKIN; DERMOSCOPY; COMPARATIVE studies; CUTANEOUS malignant melanoma
- Publication
Cancers, 2024, Vol 16, Issue 12, p2204
- ISSN
2072-6694
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/cancers16122204