title: Accuracy of clinical skin tumour diagnosis in a dermatological setting.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis of skin tumours in a dermatological setting. Patients undergoing skin surgery at the Department of Dermatology without preoperative biopsy were prospectively enrolled. Preoperatively, a single clinical diagnosis was registered. The histopathological diagnosis, performed after excision, was registered as the correct diagnosis. The sensitivity and positive predictive value of the clinical diagnosis were calculated. A total of 2,953 tumours were included. Altogether, 55.1% of the excised lesions were malignant. Excision margins for malignant tumours were free from tumour cells in 96.0% of cases. The sensitivity for diagnosis of malignant tumour was 98.0% and the positive predictive value was 85.3%. In line with previous studies, the sensitivity and positive predictive value were highest for basal cell carcinoma, 95.4% and 85.9%, respectively. For squamous cell carcinoma, the corresponding values were 68.0% and 67.3%, and for melanoma, 70.6% and 51.3%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Helsingborg Hospital, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, SE-251 87 Helsingborg, Sweden. ingela.ahnlide@skane.se
authors.forename: Ingela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ahnlide
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bjellerup
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D046169:Dermoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult