Impact of teledermoscopy on melanoma diagnosis and triage efficiency in northern SwedenShow others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Acta Dermato-Venereologica, ISSN 0001-5555, E-ISSN 1651-2057, Vol. 106, article id adv44052
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The increasing incidence of cutaneous melanomas requires safe, efficient diagnostic methods to improve patient outcomes while optimizing healthcare resource utilization. Teledermoscopy was incorporated into clinical practice in 2014 in northern Sweden to improve diagnostic accuracy of cutaneous lesions and increase access to specialist dermatology care. This study aimed to evaluate whether teledermoscopy has led to earlier and more efficient diagnostics of cutaneous melanomas. Data on all excised pigmented cutaneous lesions from County Council of Västerbotten analysed at the Department of Clinical Pathology from 2010 to 2019 were collected. Before the introduction of teledermoscopy, the mean Breslow thickness was significantly higher (1.44 mm vs 1.08 mm, p=0.008), the proportion of Breslow ≤ 0.8 mm significantly lower (51.4% vs 70.6%, p< 0.001), and the mean Number Needed to Excise (23.32 vs 9.01, p< 0.001) significantly higher before the introduction of teledermoscopy. This indicates that teledermoscopy contributes to earlier and more efficient melanoma diagnosis.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MJS Publishing, 2026. Vol. 106, article id adv44052
National Category
Dermatology and Venereal Diseases Cancer and Oncology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-250080DOI: 10.2340/actadv.v106.44052PubMedID: 41665269Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105029779358OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-250080DiVA, id: diva2:2040758
2026-02-232026-02-232026-02-23Bibliographically approved