Early detection of melanoma: a consensus report from the Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre Melanoma Screening Summit

What is known?

A Melanoma Screening Summit was held in Brisbane, Australia, to review evidence regarding current approaches for early detection of melanomas and explore new opportunities.

What is new?

The Summit attendees concluded that there is currently insufficient information in terms of comparative benefits, harms and costs to support change from opportunistic to systematic screening.

Assessment of gains in precision and cost-effectiveness of integrating total body imaging, artificial intelligence algorithms and genetic risk information is required, as well as a better understanding of clinical and molecular features of thin fatal melanomas.

What does this mean?

Research is needed to understand how to further optimise early detection of melanoma in Australia. Integrating risk-based population stratification and more precise diagnostic tests is likely to improve the balance of benefits and harms of opportunistic screening, pending assessment of cost-effectiveness.

Contact: Peter Baade

Reference: Janda M, Cust AE, Neale RE, Aitken JF, Baade PD, Green AC, Khosrotehrani K, Mar V, Soyer HP, Whiteman DC. Early detection of melanoma: a consensus report from the Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre Melanoma Screening Summit. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2020. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12972.

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