Melanoma detection in Italian pigmented lesion clinics

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate melanoma detection is crucial for early treatment and reducing unnecessary benign lesion excisions.
• Pigmented lesion clinics play a key role in skin cancer screening programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the melanoma screening accuracy of Italian pigmented lesion clinics.
• Assess metrics including number needed to excise (NNE), melanoma thickness, and follow-up diagnoses.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of excised skin tumors from 22 Italian centers in 2011.
• Data collected included lesion excision timing (baseline vs. follow-up) and patient numbers.

Main Results:

• 8,229 excised lesions from 86,564 patients; 866 melanomas (1%) diagnosed.
• NNE values indicated efficient melanoma detection (e.g., 7.9 lesions excised per melanoma).
• Median melanoma thickness was 0.6 mm; 11.1% detected during follow-up (mean thickness 0.3 mm).

Conclusions:

• Italian pigmented lesion clinics exhibit high melanoma screening accuracy.
• Achieved NNE values are comparable to specialized clinical settings.
• High detection rates of early-stage melanomas, both at baseline and follow-up, confirm screening effectiveness.