Evidence-based dermoscopy

Dermoscopy has been shown in meta-analyses to improve the diagnostic accuracy of melanoma unequivocally compared with naked eye examination and to reduce excision rates of benign melanocytic lesions in clinical trials. Sequential digital dermoscopy imaging (SDDI) allows the detection of dermoscopic featureless melanoma. When used in high-risk individuals or on individual suspicious melanocytic lesions, it has a gross impact for detecting melanoma in clinical practice, with a range of 34% to 61% of melanomas detected exclusively using SDDI in these patients. Furthermore, SDDI has been shown to reduce the excision of benign lesions when used in combination with dermoscopy.