An instrument and brief training can help doctors accurately detect melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, revealed new study.

"The training is available in different formats and physicians can hone their skills quickly with regular practice," says Natalia Jaimes, MD, a dermatologist and lead author on this study. "The best way to improve proficiency is by incorporating thorough skin exams in patients' annual checkups."
Dr. Jaimes says that number could be significantly lowered with more widespread early detection in communities without access to specialized care.
"If detect early, Melanoma is a highly treatable disease, yet so many people die from it," she says. "The good news is the solution is relatively inexpensive."
Dermatoscopes are inexpensive instruments, costing as little as $500, that provide ×10 magni?cation and illuminate the skin in a manner that minimizes light rejection off the skin surface. Researchers say diagnosis of specific melanomas using a dermatoscope is four times more accurate than when done with an unaided eye.
Adequate training on dermatoscopy is available in a one- or two-day course but can be as minimal as a 12-hour online program. Physicians who cannot accurately differentiate benign nevi from a malignant melanoma must rely on biopsies to make the diagnosis. Having more physicians trained in dermatoscopy would reduce the costs associated with those medical procedures as well as patient discomfort.
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Source-Eurekalert