Cost-effectiveness analysis in melanoma detection: A transition model applied to dermoscopy

Confocal Microscopy for Diagnosis and Management of Cutaneous Malignancies: Clinical Impacts and Innovation

Cutaneous malignancies are common malignancies worldwide, with rising incidence. Most skin cancers, including melanoma, can be cured if diagnosed correctly at an early stage. Thus, millions of biopsies are performed annually, posing a major economic burden. Non-invasive skin imaging techniques can aid in early diagnosis and save unnecessary benign biopsies. In this review article, we will discuss in vivo and ex vivo confocal microscopy (CM) techniques that are currently being utilized in dermatology clinics for skin cancer diagnosis. We will discuss their current applications and clinical impact. Additionally, we will provide a comprehensive review of the advances in the field of CM, including multi-modal approaches, the integration of fluorescent targeted dyes, and the role of artificial intelligence for improved diagnosis and management.

Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy of Dermoscopic Structures and Patterns Used in Melanoma Detection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance

Dermoscopy increases the diagnostic accuracy for melanoma. However, the accuracy of individual structures and patterns used in melanoma detection has not been systematically evaluated.

Objective

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of individual dermoscopic structures and patterns used in melanoma detection.

Data Sources

A search of Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted from inception to July 2020.

Study Selection

Studies evaluating the dermoscopic structures and patterns among melanomas in comparison with nonmelanoma lesions were included. Excluded were studies with fewer than 3 patients, studies in languages other than English or Spanish, studies not reporting dermoscopic structures per lesion type, and studies assessing only nail, mucosal, acral, facial, or metastatic melanomas or melanomas on chronically sun-damaged skin. Multiple reviewers applied these criteria, and 0.7% of studies met selection criteria.

Data Extraction and Synthesis

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guideline and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology reporting guideline were followed. Guidelines were applied via independent extraction by multiple observers. Data were pooled using a random-effects model.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The prespecified outcome measures were diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) and risk (odds ratio [OR]) of melanoma for the following dermoscopic structures/patterns: atypical dots/globules, atypical network, blue-white veil, negative network, off-centered blotch, peripheral-tan structureless areas, atypical vessels (eg, linear irregular, polymorphous), pseudopods, streaks, regression (ie, peppering, scarlike areas), shiny white structures, angulated lines, irregular pigmentation, and a multicomponent pattern.

Results

A total of 40 studies including 22 796 skin lesions and 5736 melanomas were evaluated. The structures and patterns with the highest ORs were shiny white structures (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 2.5-17.9), pseudopods (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 2.7-16.1), irregular pigmentation (OR, 6.4; 95% CI, 2.0-20.5), blue-white veil (OR, 6.3; 95% CI, 3.7-10.7), and peppering (OR, 6.3; 95% CI, 2.4-16.1). The structures with the highest specificity were pseudopods (97.3%; 95% CI, 94.3%-98.7%), shiny white structures (93.6%; 95% CI, 85.6%-97.3%), peppering (93.4%; 95% CI, 81.9%-97.8%), and streaks (92.1%; 95% CI, 88.4%-94.7%), whereas features with the highest sensitivity were irregular pigmentation (62.3%; 95% CI, 31.2%-85.8%), blue-white veil (60.6%; 95% CI, 46.7%-72.9%), atypical network (56.8%; 95% CI, 43.6%-69.2%), and a multicomponent pattern (53.7%; 95% CI, 40.4%-66.4%).

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis support the diagnostic importance of dermoscopic structures associated with melanoma detection (eg, shiny white structures, blue-white veil), further corroborate the importance of the overall pattern, and may suggest a hierarchy in the significance of these structures and patterns.

To ban or not to ban tanning bed use for minors: A cost-effectiveness analysis from multiple US perspectives for invasive melanoma

BACKGROUND

Tanning bed use is common among US adolescents, but is associated with increased melanoma risk. The decision to ban tanning bed use by adolescents should be made in consideration of the potential health benefits and costs.

METHODS

The US population aged 14 to 17 years was modeled by microsimulation, which compared ban versus no ban strategies. Lifetime quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs were estimated from a health care sector perspective and two societal perspectives: with and without the costs of policy enforcement and the economic losses of the indoor-tanning bed industry.

RESULTS

Full adherence to the ban prevented 15,102 melanoma cases and 3299 recurrences among 17.1 million minors, saving $61in formal and informal health care costs per minor and providing an increase of 0.0002 QALYs. Despite the intervention costs of the ban and the economic losses to the indoor-tanning industry, banning was still the dominant strategy, with a savings of $12 per minor and $205.4 million among 17.1 million minors. Findings were robust against varying inspection costs and ban compliance, but were sensitive to lower excess risk of melanoma with early exposure to tanning beds.

CONCLUSIONS

A ban on tanning beds for minors potentially lowers costs and increases cost effectiveness. Even after accounting for the costs of implementing a ban, it may be considered cost effective. Even after accounting for the costs of implementing a ban and economic losses in the indoor-tanning industry, a tanning bed ban for US minors may be considered cost effective. A ban has the potential to reduce the number of melanoma cases while decreasing health care costs.

LAY SUMMARY

Previous meta-analyses have linked tanning bed use with an increased risk of melanoma, particularly with initial use at a young age. Yet, it remains unclear whether a ban of adolescents would be cost effective. Overall, a ban has the potential to reduce the number of melanoma cases while promoting a decrease in health care costs. Even after accounting for the costs of implementing a ban and the economic losses incurred by the indoor-tanning industry, a ban would be cost effective.

Usefulness of dermoscopy to improve the clinical and histopathologic diagnosis of skin cancers

Multiple studies have shown that dermoscopy increases the sensitivity and specificity for the detection of skin cancers compared with examination by the naked eye. Dermoscopy can also lead to the detection of thinner and smaller cancers. In addition, dermoscopy leads to the more precise selection of lesions requiring excision. In essence, dermoscopy helps clinicians differentiate benign from malignant lesions through the presence or absence of specific dermoscopic structures. Therefore, because most dermoscopic structures have direct histopathologic correlates, dermoscopy can allow the prediction of certain histologic findings present in skin cancers, thus helping select management and treatment options for select types of skin cancers. Visualizing dermoscopic structures in the ex vivo specimens can also be beneficial. It can improve the histologic diagnostic accuracy by targeted step-sectioning in areas of concern, which can be marked by the clinician before sending the specimen to the pathologist, or by the pathologist on the excised specimen in the laboratory. In addition, ex vivo dermoscopy can also be used to select tumor areas with genetic importance because some dermoscopic structures have been related to mutations with theragnostic relevance. In the second article in this continuing medical education series, we review the impact of dermoscopy on the diagnostic accuracy of skin cancer, how dermoscopy can affect the histopathologic examination, and which dermoscopic features may be more relevant in terms of histologic and genetic prediction.

Sequential digital dermatoscopic imaging of patients with multiple atypical nevi

Patients with multiple atypical nevi are at higher risk of developing melanoma. Among different techniques, sequential digital dermatoscopic imaging (SDDI) is a state-of-the art method to enhance diagnostic accuracy in evaluating pigmented skin lesions. It relies on analyzing digital dermatoscopic images of a lesion over time to find specific dynamic criteria inferring biologic behavior. SDDI can reduce the number of necessary excisions and finds melanomas in an early—and potentially curable—stage, but precautions in selecting patients and lesions have to be met to reach those goals.