Incidental melanomas detected in veterans referred to dermatology

Background Early detection of melanoma is integral to preventing morbidity and mortality. Objective We sought to characterize and compare incidental versus consult melanomas detected in veterans referred to the Minneapolis, MN, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center dermatology clinic. Method...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2016-03, Vol.74 (3), p.462-469
Main Authors: Hanson, Jamie L., BS, Kingsley-Loso, Jaime L., BA, Grey, Katherine R., BA, Raju, Srihari I., MD, Parks, Patricia R., MA, Bershow, Andrea L., MD, Warshaw, Erin M., MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
cutaneous malignancy
Dermatology
dermatology consults
detection
Female
Humans
Incidental Findings
incidental lesions
Male
melanoma
Melanoma - epidemiology
Melanoma - pathology
Middle Aged
Referral and Consultation
Retrospective Studies
Risk
Skin Neoplasms - epidemiology
Skin Neoplasms - pathology
skin cancer
Veterans Health
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Early detection of melanoma is integral to preventing morbidity and mortality. Objective We sought to characterize and compare incidental versus consult melanomas detected in veterans referred to the Minneapolis, MN, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center dermatology clinic. Methods We retrospectively reviewed charts of all dermatology consults between January 2004 and March 2012. Results Of the 28,405 consults sent during the study period, 17,174 met inclusion criteria. There were 231 melanomas identified in 221 patients. In all, 144 melanomas were identified on the consult and 87 melanomas were discovered incidentally. The incidental melanoma detection rate was 0.5% (84/17,174). Consult melanomas were more likely to be invasive than incidental melanomas (relative risk 1.51, 95% confidence interval 1.23-1.86, P  
ISSN:0190-9622
1097-6787
DOI:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.09.057