European Expert Consensus on Essential Variables for Teledermatological Assessment of Skin Tumours

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Medical Informatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Teledermatology is widely adopted for evaluating suspicious skin lesions.
• Current referral content lacks standardization, hindering effective remote assessment.
• Standardized data is crucial for accurate diagnosis and AI integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To achieve European expert consensus on essential variables for teledermatology skin tumour assessment.
• To define a core dataset for standardized teledermatological referrals.
• To lay the groundwork for AI-assisted diagnostic workflows.

Main Methods:

• A modified Delphi study involving experienced dermatologists across Europe.
• Three rounds of variable proposal, rating (essentiality, relevance, feasibility), and consensus voting (≥67% agreement).
• Quantitative scoring and sensitivity analyses to validate consensus variables.

Main Results:

• 47 variables were initially proposed, with 34 progressing to the final round.
• Twelve essential variables achieved consensus, predominantly concerning image quality and lesion characteristics.
• Image quality variables demonstrated robust consensus across subgroups.

Conclusions:

• A focused, clinically practical core dataset for teledermatology skin tumour assessment has been defined.
• This consensus promotes standardization of teledermatological referrals.
• The established variables will support future validation studies and AI-driven workflows in dermatology.