Measuring the success of treatments for congenital melanocytic naevi (birthmarks)

Abstract

Congenital melanocytic naevi (CMN) are birthmarks that can have a great impact on the lives of patients because of the unusual appearance of CMN and the risk of developing skin cancer (melanoma) or brain and spine problems. Larger CMN (more than 20 cm) are relatively rare and affect one in every 20,000 newborns. At the moment, different studies looking at CMN often measure different outcomes and this makes it difficult to compare studies.