title: Diagnostic services for melanoma in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate organizational structure and diagnostic procedures used by the Italian hospital network for identifying cutaneous melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationwide survey of a representative sample of centers was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Diagnosis occurs mainly in ambulatory dermatology clinics (91%). In all high-volume hospitals, clinical and dermoscopic examination is available at first consultation or as an additional service, compared to 89% of low-volume hospitals. Computer-assisted videodermoscopy is available in 75% of hospitals, with a statistically significant difference between high- and low-volume hospitals (86 vs. 62%; p < 0.001). First consultation is generally an integrated clinical/dermoscopic evaluation (55% of high-volume centers vs. 47% of low-volume hospitals); digital evaluation is available for monitoring suspicious lesions and high-risk patients in 25% of high-volume centers versus 19% of low-volume centers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The organizational structure and diagnostic procedures in Italian hospitals are in line with modern diagnostic procedures for early diagnosis of melanoma. Dermatologists have a central role in managing diagnosis of primitive melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, IRCCS IRST, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Ignazio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stanganelli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ascierto
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bono
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Giorgi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pimpinelli
authors.forename: Vanna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chiarion-Sileni
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palmieri
authors.forename: Maria Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pizzichetta
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Testori
mesh_terms: D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods; D046169:Dermoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D003954:Diagnostic Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013223:Statistics as Topic