title: Diagnosing skin malignancy: assessment of predictive clinical criteria and risk factors.
abstract: Expect to encounter 6 to 7 cases of basal cell cancer, 1 to 2 cases of squamous cell cancer, and approximately 1 case of melanoma every year. There is good evidence for using the American Cancer Society's ABCDE criteria as a clinical diagnostic test to rule out malignant melanoma). The revised 7-point checklist has high sensitivity and is therefore useful for ruling out a diagnosis of malignant melanoma. However, its low specificity yields many false-positive results. The gold standard for diagnosis of skin malignancies is a tissue biopsy. If any doubt exists about the diagnosis, a biopsy should be performed.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Health System, Department of Family Medicine, Charlottesville 22908-0729, USA. sstrayer@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Strayer
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Reynolds
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D019091:Critical Pathways; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*