Almost half of the individuals diagnosed with melanoma in a free skin cancer screening program otherwise would not have gone to a doctor to have their skin examined, according to an analysis of the American Academy of Dermatology’s national skin cancer screening program, during 1986-2014.
Courtesy AAD
More than 2 million free skin cancer screenings have been done under the SPOTme program.
The SPOTme program, a national skin cancer screening and education program conducted by volunteer dermatologists, was launched in 1985. More than 2 million free screenings have been provided by the program in a “predominantly high-risk population, rendering important clinical diagnoses for hundreds of thousands of participants,” according to first authors Jean-Phillip Okhovat, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Derek Beaulieu, MD, of Tufts University, both in Boston, and their colleagues.
The analysis was published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology on July 26.
Their study analyzed data on almost 2 million people screened through the program from 1986-2014. About 62% were women; 90% were white, about 2% were black, and almost 4% were Hispanic. Almost 80% had no regular dermatologist, almost 73% had not been screened previously, almost 45% had never had a skin cancer check, and 9% were uninsured. Almost 31% reported a mole that had recently change in size, color, or shape; almost 34% said they had a family history of skin cancer, and about 14% said they had a personal history of skin cancer.
Participants were asked about demographics and risk factors, although some questions changed from year to year (for example, in 2009 and 2010, participants were asked about melanoma risk factors, and from 1992 through 2010, participants were asked about their access to dermatologic care).
During 1991-2014 (which did not include data for 1995, 1996, and 2000, which were not available), the screening program resulted in 20,628 clinical melanoma diagnoses, 156,087 clinical dysplastic nevi diagnoses, 32,893 clinical squamous cell carcinoma diagnoses, and 129,848 clinical basal cell carcinoma diagnoses.
Of those clinically diagnosed with melanoma during 1992-2010, 83% said they did not have a regular dermatologist, 77% said they had not been screened previously, and 47% said they would not have seen a doctor for a skin exam if the SPOTme program had not been available.
Of those screened in 2009 and 2010 , 72% were considered at high risk for melanoma (older than age 65 years, having a history of sunburns, a family history of skin cancer, and/or more than 50 moles or unusual moles).
Among the other findings was that from 1992 to 2010, about 12% of those with a clinical melanoma diagnosis were not insured, which increased over time, from almost 11% during 1992-1999 to almost 16% during 2007-2010.
The “consistently high rates” of multiple skin cancer risk factors among those newly screened in the study are consistent with previously reported data, “suggesting that there is an untapped pool of at-risk Americans who have yet to be screened for skin cancer,” the authors wrote. “While the SPOTme program cannot be expected to meet the demands of this larger at-risk population, increased publicity and educational campaigns led by the AAD and assistance to primary care physicians in triaging of patients who should be seen by dermatologists could decrease the number of Americans who need to be screened,” they added.
Limitations of the study included the inability to confirm the clinical diagnoses with histopathology, and no data from the providers were available.
The authors had no disclosures. SPOTme, part of the AAD’s SPOT Skin Cancer initiative, is supported by a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
SOURCE: Okhovat JP et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. https://doi./org/10.1016.j.jaad.2018.05.1242.