This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Diameter guideline for skin lesions useful in detecting cutaneous melanoma
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
When selecting atypical lesions for skin biopsy, the diameter guideline of larger than 6 mm, or the D criterion of the ABCDE criteria, is a useful parameter and should continue to be used, according to researchers.
Researchers from various U.S. sites conducted a cohort study of 1,323 patients with 1,657 pigmented skin lesions suggestive of melanoma undergoing biopsies in dermatology hospital-based clinics and community practices. They aimed to assess the efficacy of the current guideline of larger than 6 mm in diameter for early cutaneous melanoma diagnosis to determine whether it should be adjusted downward to 5 mm.
Using a computerized imaging system, the researchers found that 853 (51.5%) of the lesions were 6 mm or smaller. Thirteen of those lesions (1.5%) were invasive melanomas. Of 804 lesions larger than 6 mm, 41 (5.1%) were invasive melanomas.
Twenty-two lesions (2.6%) of those 6 mm and smaller were diagnosed as in situ melanoma and 62 (7.7%) of those larger than 6 mm were also in situ melanoma. – by Stacey L. Adams
Arch Dermatol. 2008;144:469-474.