AI-assisted Total Body Dermoscopic Evaluation of Changes in Melanocytic Nevi during Pregnancy: A Prospective, Comparative Study of 2,799 Nevi

• Published in: Acta dermato-venereologica 2025-01, Vol.105, p.adv41025
• Main Authors: Peter, Jelissa K, Helfenstein, Fabrice, Cerminara, Sara E, Maul, Julia-Tatjana, Zehnder, Mara L, Jamiolkowski, Dagmar, Roider, Elisabeth, Mühleisen, Beda, Hösli, Irene, Navarini, Alexander A, Maul, Lara V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Artificial intelligence; Case-Control Studies; Dermoscopy; Digital Imaging; Female; Humans; Melanocytic nevi; Melanoma; Neural Networks, Computer; Nevus, Pigmented - diagnostic imaging; Nevus, Pigmented - pathology; Original Report; Postpartum Period; Predictive Value of Tests; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic - diagnostic imaging; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic - pathology; Prospective Studies; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Switzerland; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0001-5555; 1651-2057; 1651-2057
• DOI: 10.2340/actadv.v105.41025

Pregnancy-associated changes in melanocytic nevi (MN), apart from size increase on the trunk, remain a topic of debate. We conducted the first prospective study to investigate dermoscopic changes in MN comparing pregnant with non-pregnant women on all body parts using a market-approved convolutional neural network (CNN). We included 25 pregnant and 25 non-pregnant women from Basel, Switzerland, who underwent standard skin cancer screenings and whose MN > 2 mm were digitally recorded and analysed by a CNN. Pregnant women were examined three times: in the first and third trimester and 8-12 weeks postpartum; non-pregnant women twice in an interval of 17-21 weeks. We analysed 2,799 MN. In pregnant women, diameter[p