title: Screening for melanoma.
abstract: Although melanoma is a deadly cancer that is rising in incidence, the USA does not have uniform guidelines for melanoma screening. Screening for melanoma requires no specialized equipment and has little associated morbidity. However, screening has the greatest impact when performed among patients with the highest risk for melanoma incidence and mortality. Screening lower-risk patients may result in prohibitively high costs, unnecessary biopsies of benign lesions, and decreased access to a dermatologic specialist for patients who are actually at a higher risk. We advocate targeting melanoma screening efforts toward those patients at high risk of developing and dying from melanoma, as well as toward those at-risk patients who are least likely to detect their own melanoma.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA bDepartment of Dermatology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
authors.forename: Mary-Katharine M
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Secrest
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Ferris
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001706:Biopsy; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D005060:Europe; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000592:standards; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012306:Risk; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014481:United States