Wrong diagnoses reached in up to 40% of skin cancer cases

New research has suggested that skin cancer diagnoses vary widely between doctors, leading to under and over reporting of the disease.

The study found that the most poorly diagnosed are moderate to severe cases of melanoma, with incorrect diagnoses being made in nearly 40 per cent of cases, putting patients’ lives at risk.

The researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, USA, looked into 187 cases in which the severity of previously diagnosed melanoma skin lesions was ranked and then reviewed by a panel of pathologists.

The results of the study revealed that the diagnoses of moderate to severe lesions were the least accurate, while mild cases were 92 per cent accurate and highly invasive cases were 72 per cent accurate. The reason for this is not yet clear.

According to the researchers, efforts need to be made to improve clinical practice, including the development of more sophisticated tools to support verdicts of doctors and the use of a standard diagnosis reference.

The current method of diagnosis is to assess skin samples under a microscope, the reliability of which has previously been questioned.

Dr Joann Elmore, lead author of the study, said “The diagnosis is made by a human. There is no molecular marker or machine that will tell us what the diagnosis is.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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