title: Office management of melanoma patients.
abstract: As the incidence of melanoma continues to increase, so does the role of the dermatologist as both medical and surgical oncologist for these patients. The dermatologist holds a key role in all phases of care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. The dermatologist is best trained to complete a full and thorough skin examination and is best able to recognize a melanoma in its early stages of growth. Dermatologists have a unique opportunity to prevent melanoma through appropriate patient education concerning sun protection, self skin examinations, and the ABCDEs of melanoma recognition (ie, asymmetry, border irregularity, color variations, dimension and evolution). The dermatologist is well trained to obtain an appropriate full-thickness skin biopsy and is knowledgeable to interpret the pathologist report and understand the significance of the various histologic prognostic indexes. Most patients present with localized disease and with thinner Breslow depth and thus can be skillfully treated in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia by a dermatologist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, USA. marc_brown@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Marc D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D003376:Counseling; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010346:Patient Care Management; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery