title: Five-point checklist for skin cancer detection in primary care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Skin cancer screening interventions often relay on the involvement of general practitioners (GPs). Many interventions up to now have been directed to training approaches focusing on the clinical features of skin malignancies to increase GPs skill in skin cancer recognition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on the available current knowledge about skin cancer epidemiology and risk factors, we built up a 5-point checklist to help GPs in triaging patients to be referred to a dermatologist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five-point check-list: 1) visible sun damaged skin on exposed areas (red and brown to black macules and crusts on visible skin); 2) more than 20 nevi on the arms; 3) one or more ABCD positive lesions (flat, large and asymmetric macules); 4) one or more EFG positive lesions (elevated, firm and growing skin lesions); 5) a pigmented lesion larger than 1.5 cm in diameter.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our aim was to provide a short list of practical rules, easy to adopt into a routine practice, in order to achieve a more effective triage of patients requiring a dermatology consultation for skin cancer examination. The novelty of the proposed method relies on the approach. The proposed method does not require the GP to diagnose skin cancer. The aim is to involve GPs in the selection of patients to be referred to the specialist, in order to reduce the waiting time while avoiding the risk to leave cancers untreated.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Dermatology and Skin Cancer, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy - elvira.moscarella@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moscarella
authors.affiliation: First Department of Dermatology, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Aimilios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lallas
authors.affiliation: Unit of Dermatology and Skin Cancer, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Emergency, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alfano
authors.affiliation: Unit of Dermatology, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Argenziano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057189:Checklist; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology