Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026
Screening for Melanoma Modifiers using a Zebrafish Autochthonous Tumor Model
Published on: November 13, 2012
The impact of physician screening on melanoma detection
Ivanka Kovalyshyn1, Stephen W Dusza, Katherine Siamas
1Department of Dermatology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10022, USA.
Objective:
To compare melanoma characteristics and detection patterns in new vs established patients in a pigmented lesion clinic at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) during a 10-year period.
Design:
Single-center historical cohort study.
Setting:
Academic practice of 2 dermatologists with expertise in the management of pigmented skin lesions.
Patients:
The study included 394 patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma at MSKCC between 1998 and 2008. For the purposes of this study, we separated patients into 2 groups: established patients, defined as patients who have received professional services in a pigmented lesion clinic at MSKCC for at least 3 months, vs new patients, defined as patients new to our practice.
Main Outcome Measures:
Melanoma histologic characteristics and patterns of melanoma detection in established vs new patients.
Results:
Established patients had more in situ disease (70% vs 57%; P < .001) and thinner invasive melanomas (0.45 mm vs 0.82 mm; P = .002) and were less likely to present with negative prognostic attributes such as ulceration and dermal mitoses compared with new patients. In new patients, 63% of melanomas were physician detected vs 82% in established patients; 18% of all melanomas were patient detected. Dermatologist-detected melanomas were thinner compared with self-detected melanomas. The majority of self-detected melanomas were noted by patients because of change (64%). The overall benign to malignant biopsy ratio over the 10-year period was 5.4:1.
Conclusion:
Physician-based screening leads to higher rates of physician-detected melanoma and detection of thinner melanoma.
