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The effect of screening on melanoma incidence and biopsy rates.

David C WhitemanCatherine M OlsenStuart MacgregorMatthew H LawBridie S ThompsonJean Claude DusingizeAdéle C GreenRachel E NealeNirmala Pandeyanull null
Published in: The British journal of dermatology (2022)
People who undergo skin screening subsequently experience higher rates of biopsies and melanoma (especially in situ melanoma), even after adjusting for all known risk factors, consistent with overdiagnosis. What is already known about this topic? Cutaneous melanomas are common cancers in white-skinned populations for which early detection is promoted as a means of reducing morbidity and mortality. There is concern that increased surveillance is leading to the overdiagnosis of indolent melanomas that are not destined to be lethal. The extent of melanoma overdiagnosis associated with surveillance is not known. What does this study add? People subjected to skin examinations by a doctor or who undergo skin biopsies subsequently have higher numbers of biopsies and higher rates of melanoma than people not subjected to either, even after adjusting for all known risk factors. These findings suggest that heightened surveillance leads to a proportion of melanomas being diagnosed that otherwise may not have come to clinical attention.
Keyphrases
  • risk factors
  • skin cancer
  • public health
  • ultrasound guided
  • soft tissue
  • basal cell carcinoma
  • wound healing
  • working memory
  • young adults
  • childhood cancer