Patient and physician delay in melanoma diagnosis

The sequence of events leading ultimately to the diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma was investigated. We conducted interviews with 275 patients and the physicians whom they had consulted regarding their suspicious lesions before their eventual referral to a melanoma center. An average of 1 year elapsed from the time that patients first noticed a new or changed lesion and the date of diagnosis. Major components of delay were attributable to both patients and physicians. An average of 6 months elapsed between patients' recognition of a new or changed lesion and their realization that the lesion was suspicious. For 21% of cases, at least 2 months elapsed between physicians' observation of lesions and a definitive diagnosis of malignant melanoma, and 13% were diagnosed a minimum of 4 months following a visit to the physician. Patients routinely cannot distinguish between melanomas and moles. Physicians do not always diagnose melanoma accurately or act promptly in response to suspicious lesions. We have yet to take adequate advantage of the unique opportunity for early detection and cure in this readily visible, rapidly increasing malignancy.