Skin Cancer Screening (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version

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Changes to This Summary (02/07/2018)

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

Description of the Evidence

Added American Cancer Society as reference 5.

Updated statistics with estimated new cases and deaths for 2018. Also revised text to state that from 2005 to 2014, the incidence rate increased by 3% per year among adults aged 50 years and older; however, data from the same period indicate that incidence rates stabilized in individuals younger than 50 years; in addition, from 2006 to 2015, mortality rates declined by 1% per year in individuals aged 50 years and older and declined by 2.6% per year in individuals younger than 50 years.

Added text to state that observer variability among physicians has been noted in the evaluation of skin lesions and subsequent biopsy specimens.

Added text about a study of 187 pathologists who practiced in the United States that found that cases of moderately dysplastic nevi to early-state invasive melanoma had less than 50% agreement, with a reference diagnosis defined by consensus of experienced pathologists; at a U.S. population level, it is estimated that 82.8% of melanocytic skin biopsy diagnoses would be verified if they were reviewed by a consensus reference panel of experienced pathologists (cited Elmore et al. as reference 19). Also added text to state that differentiating between benign and malignant melanocytic tumors during histologic examinations of biopsy specimens has been shown to be inconsistent, even in the hands of experienced dermatopathologists; this variability in the diagnosis of melanocytic lesions undermines the results of studies that examine screening effectiveness and also may undermine the effectiveness of any screening intervention, suggesting that requesting a second opinion regarding the pathology of biopsy specimens may be important (cited Farmer et al. as reference 20 and Lott et al. as reference 21).

This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ® - NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database pages.

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