Compliance with self-examination surveillance in patients with melanoma and atypical moles: an anonymous questionnaire study.

BACKGROUND

Regular skin self-examination is suggested as a means to detect melanomas at an early stage and thus improve prognosis. Compliance, however, has seldom been assessed in a routine clinical setting and anonymously.

OBJECTIVES

To assess compliance with self-examination in patients with either a previous melanoma or atypical moles (dysplastic nevi) and to examine the perceived utility of supplied photographs.

METHODS

An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all patients seen with either a melanoma or atypical moles between the years 1995 and 2005. The melanoma cohort consisted of 143 patients. There were 440 patients with atypical moles.

RESULTS

Replies to the questionnaire were received from 94 of the melanoma patients and from 185 patients in the atypical mole cohort. Only 22% (12) in the melanoma group performed a total skin examination monthly. Fewer than 10% of those with atypical moles did a monthly skin examination, but about half of the patients examined their entire skin more than once a year.

CONCLUSION

Self-examination is practiced in the majority of patients with either a previous melanoma or atypical moles. Those doing this on a regular monthly basis are a small minority.