title: General practitioners' accuracy in diagnosing skin cancers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of both melanoma and nonmelanocytic skin cancers has risen dramatically during the past decades, skin cancer becoming an important public health concern.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of general practitioners (GPs) in the early diagnosis of skin cancers, their correct differential diagnosis of benign lesions and their accuracy in the choice of the treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multiple-choice questionnaire regarding 7 cases (with 4 figures) were sent to 625 GPs to evaluate their diagnostic abilities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that many GPs are not confident in their ability to recognize the most common skin cancers, and knowledge deficiencies were identified.
authors.affiliation: Dermatological Clinic, University of Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Offidani
authors.forename: Oriana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Simonetti
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.forename: Ayhan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alpagut
authors.forename: Andreina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bossi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D017492:Keratosis, Seborrheic / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000175:diagnosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires