Patients poorly recognize lesions of concern that are malignant melanomas: is self-screening the correct advice?


Journal

PeerJ
ISSN: 2167-8359
Titre abrégé: PeerJ
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101603425

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
2024
Historique:
received: 28 11 2023
accepted: 12 06 2024
medline: 8 7 2024
pubmed: 8 7 2024
entrez: 8 7 2024
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Australia is known for its outdoor culture, with a large percentage of its population engaging in outdoor recreational activities, aquatic, non-aquatic and outdoor occupational activities. However, these outdoor enthusiasts face increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), leading to a higher risk of skin cancer, including malignant melanoma (MM). Over the past 40 years, there has been a significant rise in skin cancer rates in Australia, with two out of three Australians expected to develop some form of skin cancer by age 70. Currently, skin cancer examinations are not endorsed in asymptomatic or low-risk individuals in Australia, with only high-risk individuals recommended to undergo regular skin examinations. Notably, the Melanoma Institute Australia suggests that one-half of patients identify MMs themselves, although this claim appears to be based on limited Australian data which may not reflect contemporary practice. Therefore this study sought to determine the percentage of patients who were able to self-identify MMs as lesions of concern when presenting for a skin cancer examination. Multi-site, cross-sectional study design incorporating a descriptive survey and total body skin cancer screening, including artificial intelligence by a skin cancer doctor. A total of 260 participants with suspect MM lesions were biopsied, with 83 (31.9%) found to be melanomas. Of the true positive MMs only a small percentage of participants (21.7% specificity) correctly had concerns about the suspect lesion being a MM. These MMs were located primarily on the back (44.4%), shoulder (11.1%) and upper leg (11.1%). There was no significant difference in the size between those participants aware of a MM versus those who were not ( Only a small percentage of participants in this study were able to self-identify either

Sections du résumé

Background UNASSIGNED
Australia is known for its outdoor culture, with a large percentage of its population engaging in outdoor recreational activities, aquatic, non-aquatic and outdoor occupational activities. However, these outdoor enthusiasts face increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), leading to a higher risk of skin cancer, including malignant melanoma (MM). Over the past 40 years, there has been a significant rise in skin cancer rates in Australia, with two out of three Australians expected to develop some form of skin cancer by age 70. Currently, skin cancer examinations are not endorsed in asymptomatic or low-risk individuals in Australia, with only high-risk individuals recommended to undergo regular skin examinations. Notably, the Melanoma Institute Australia suggests that one-half of patients identify MMs themselves, although this claim appears to be based on limited Australian data which may not reflect contemporary practice. Therefore this study sought to determine the percentage of patients who were able to self-identify MMs as lesions of concern when presenting for a skin cancer examination.
Methods UNASSIGNED
Multi-site, cross-sectional study design incorporating a descriptive survey and total body skin cancer screening, including artificial intelligence by a skin cancer doctor.
Results UNASSIGNED
A total of 260 participants with suspect MM lesions were biopsied, with 83 (31.9%) found to be melanomas. Of the true positive MMs only a small percentage of participants (21.7% specificity) correctly had concerns about the suspect lesion being a MM. These MMs were located primarily on the back (44.4%), shoulder (11.1%) and upper leg (11.1%). There was no significant difference in the size between those participants aware of a MM versus those who were not (
Conclusions UNASSIGNED
Only a small percentage of participants in this study were able to self-identify either

Identifiants

pubmed: 38974412
doi: 10.7717/peerj.17674
pii: 17674
pmc: PMC11227272
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Multicenter Study

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

e17674

Informations de copyright

©2024 Climstein et al.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

A/Prof Mike Climstein is a Section Editor for PeerJ (Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation); A/Prof Michael Stapelberg and Ian Miller are employed at John Flynn Hospital Specialist Centre; A/Prof Jeremy Hudson and Dr Paul Coxon are employed at North Queensland Skin Centre; Joe Walsh in employed at Sports Science Institute and AI Consulting Group.

Auteurs

Mike Climstein (M)

Aquatic Based Research, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.
Physical Activity, Lifestyle, Ageing and Wellbeing Faculty Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Clinical and Health Services Research Group, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.

Jeremy Hudson (J)

Aquatic Based Research, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.
North Queensland Skin Centre, Townsville, Qld, Australia.

Michael Stapelberg (M)

Aquatic Based Research, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.
John Flynn Specialist Centre, Tugan, Queensland, Australia.

Ian J Miller (IJ)

Aquatic Based Research, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.
John Flynn Specialist Centre, Tugan, Queensland, Australia.

Nedeljka Rosic (N)

Aquatic Based Research, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.
Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Qld, Australia.

Paul Coxon (P)

North Queensland Skin Centre, Townsville, Qld, Australia.

James Furness (J)

Water Based Research Unit, Bond University, Robina, Qld, Australia.

Joe Walsh (J)

Sports Science Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
AI Consulting Group, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

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