Assessment of nurse-led screening of pigmented lesions using SIAscope

Abstract

The incidence of malignant melanoma in the UK is rising. Increased awareness of melanoma has led to an increase in patients presenting with pigmented lesions to their general practitioner (GP) and to pigmented lesion clinics. The sensitivity and specificity of the general practitioner in diagnosing melanoma remains poor. A trial was conducted to establish the effectiveness of SIAscope in triaging patients referred by GPs on suspicion of melanoma. After Ethical Committee approval, all consenting patients attending the Pigmented Lesion Clinic at Frenchay Hospital were scanned with the SIAscope. The consultant then examined all the patients and all suspicious lesions were excised and examined. Eight hundred and eighty-six patients were included in the trial. The SIAscope had a sensitivity of 94.4% with a false negative rate of 3.7% for malignant melanoma. The SIAscope could be useful in reducing the number of benign lesions seen by the consultant while still identifying most melanomas.