Skin cancer detection by one click — are we any closer?

Janda, Monika; Soyer, H Peter

doi:10.5694/mja13.11338

Topics

To the Editor: Despite cost-effective sun-safety campaigns,1 in 2010, 36% of adolescents and 42% of adults believed a sun-tanned person looks more healthy, and 21% and 13%, respectively, were sunburned during the previous weekend.2 Skin cancer rates in Australia will thus remain high.

1 Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD.
2 Dermatology Research Centre, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.

Correspondence: m.janda@qut.edu.au

Competing interests:

Peter Soyer cofounded e-derm-consult and is a shareholder. He also holds shares in and reports for MoleMap by Dermatologists.

1. Shih ST, Carter R, Sinclair C, et al. Economic evaluation of skin cancer prevention in Australia. Prev Med 2009; 49: 449-453.
2. Volkov A, Dobbinson S, Wakefield M, Slevin T. Seven-year trends in sun protection and sunburn among Australian adolescents and adults. Aust N Z J Public Health 2013; 37: 63-69.
3. Mitchell JK, Leslie KS. Melanoma death prevention: moving away from the sun. J Am Acad Dermatol 2013; 68: e169-e175.
4. Wolf JA, Moreau JF, Akilov O, et al. Diagnostic inaccuracy of smartphone applications for melanoma detection. JAMA Dermatol 2013; 149: 422-426.
5. United States Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration. Mobile medical applications: guidance for industry and Food and Drug Administration staff. 25 Sep 2013. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/UCM263366.pdf (accessed Nov 2013).
6. Janda M, Loescher LJ, Soyer HP. Enhanced skin self-examination: a novel approach to skin cancer monitoring and follow-up. JAMA Dermatol 2013; 149: 231-236.

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