[The 'freckle bus' campaign; an unhealthy phenomenon or a sensible experiment?]

In the summer of 1989 a screening campaign for skin cancer was organized in four seaside resorts of The Netherlands using a mobile examination room. On 4 consecutive Saturdays 3069 individuals were examined. A total of 65 individuals with a suspected lesion were found. Histological reports were obtained on 46 suspected lesions and showed: 6 melanomas (all with a thickness less than 1 mm), 2 squamous cell carcinomas, 23 basal cell carcinomas, 5 dysplastic naevi and 10 benign skin lesions. The positive predictive value of the clinical examination appeared to be 83%. Much publicity was given to the campaign by the (inter)national media. The effects of this publicity were measured by a questionnaire sent to the general practitioners (856) and dermatologists (25) in the region, of whom 44% and 84%, respectively, responded. It appeared that during and after the campaign there had been an increase in the number of consultations for skin lesions, and an increase in the diagnoses of malignant lesions.