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Majority of dermatologists perform total body skin examinations at similar frequency

Most U.S. dermatologists perform total body skin examination at least every 2 to 3 years, according to study results published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Researchers sent a survey by e-mail to 6,500 U.S. dermatologists in 2015 regarding how often they performed total body skin examinations for patients with no personal or family history of skin cancer and for patients with a high risk of skin cancer. Responses were received from 623 physicians.

In patients with no personal or family history of skin cancer, total body skin examinations were performed either annually or every 2 to 3 years by 86% of dermatologists, every 6 months by 1% of dermatologists, and rarely or never by 13% of dermatologists.

In patients with high risk for skin cancer, total body skin examinations were performed annually by 60% of dermatologists, every 6 months by 34%, every 3 to 4 months by 4%, every 2 to 3 years by 2%, and rarely or never by 1%.

Female practitioners and younger practitioners (less than 5 years of experience) screened patients who were at normal risk for skin cancer more frequently (P = .00004 and P = .004, respectively).

“These data suggest a uniform practice of skin cancer screening in the United States across the broad and diverse population of dermatologists,” the researchers concluded. – by Talitha Bennett

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.