[Diagnostic delay in malignant melanoma]

Malignant melanoma accounts for 1 to 3% of all cancers and has been the most rapidly increasing type of cancer during the last decades. Early diagnosis and treatment favours a good prognosis. We wanted to investigate delays in the diagnostic process and patients' knowledge concerning malignant melanoma.

457 patients with primary cutaneous malignant melanoma received a questionnaire through their physician; 352 (77%) returned the questionnaire.

Median patient delay, defined as time between the patient's first observation of changes in a naevus and the first medical consultation, was eight weeks. Younger men had the longest patient delays. Median professional delay, defined as time from the first medical consultation to the time of diagnosis, was one week. 60% of the patients observing changes in a naevus did not initially seek medical advice, as they did not believe the changes were significant. In 65% of the cases, the patients themselves initiated the consultation. Television and other media were principal sources of information.

Public campaigns should be designed to reach younger men in particular and focus on self-examination of naevi and immediate contact with a physician when a suspicious lesion is discovered.