Australians have some of the highest rates of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun. This results in a high incidence of skin cancer, including melanoma.
Over the past four decades in particular, skin cancer rates have increased significantly, with two in every three Australians expected to develop some form of skin cancer by 70 years of age.
Despite this, routine skin cancer examinations are only recommended for high-risk individuals. For others, clinicians and outreach bodies provide general information on how to detect a possible melanoma and what things to look out for on the skin. It’s a form of “self-screening.”
Furthermore, the COVID pandemic hasn’t helped, with some diagnoses delayed due to patients not seeing their doctor.
A new Australian study by researchers in New South Wales and Queensland investigated the effectiveness of self-screening for melanoma, focusing particularly on how accurately patients identify lesions of concern.
Participants were recruited from various clinics and screened by experienced skin cancer doctors, each with over five years of experience. The screenings were augmented by high-definition dermatoscopes equipped with artificial intelligence to assist in identifying potential melanomas.
A total of 260 participants with suspect melanoma lesions were biopsied. All collected tissues underwent examination at a professional laboratory. Separate to the testing of whether people did have melanoma, they were also surveyed about whether they had concerns about the lesions of concern and if they thought the lesion was a melanoma. That meant researchers could compare what the study participants thought against the lab results. The study also collected demographic information such as age, gender and skin type.
Out of 260 biopsied lesions, 83 were confirmed as melanomas. Of concern to researchers was the finding that only about 20 per cent of participants thought these lesions were melanomas. The melanomas were most often found on the back (44 per cent), shoulder (11 per cent), and upper leg (11 per cent). The results also showed that physician-detected melanomas tend to be found earlier and thinner than those identified by patients. The study also highlighted that Anglo skin types were overrepresented among participants, limiting the generalisability of these findings in darker-skinned individuals.
The authors say that this study underscores the inadequacy of relying solely on self-screening for early detection of malignant melanomas. While some organisations say a substantial proportion of melanomas are self-detected, the findings suggest fewer than a quarter of participants could accurately identify a lesion of concern.
Researchers suggest a reassessment of skin cancer screening guidelines which currently don’t recommend routine screenings for low-risk or asymptomatic individuals. They say enhanced screening protocols and campaigns emphasising professional skin checks over self-diagnosis are needed to improve early detection rates, particularly in rural and remote regions.
Does your practice offer skin checks?
If your practice has a Tonic TV, we can help you promote skin checks and other services.
You have access to 3 minutes every hour to promote your practice using either static slides or supplying us with videos of a 30 or 60 second duration.
A slide appears on screen for 15 seconds and can promote important information such as:
- Operating hours
- Services offered such as skin checks
- Local health updates
- Seasonal vaccination reminders
- New staff
- Special events and clinics
We can create the slides for you. Simply contact us with the information you’d like to share on screens and we will design slides to promote your practice.
Further information
Patients poorly recognize lesions of concern that are malignant melanomas: is self-screening the correct advice? Peer Journal
