Patient Perception of the Diagnosis Announcement and its Impact on Quality of Life of Patients with Primary Melanoma or Basal Cell Carcinoma.

An improved understanding of the impact of skin cancer on patients' daily life may optimize disease management. This questionnaire survey of adult patients in real-world settings aimed to assess patient perception of the diagnosis announcement, and the impact of the diagnosis on the patients' professional and personal life. Data from 355 patients with melanoma and 320 patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) were analysed. Melanoma significantly impacted the couple, and sexual relationships, as well as family and social life, and reduced the patient's libido more significantly than did BCC (all p < 0.05). Melanoma and BCC significantly impacted the patients' professional and personal lives. The word "cancer" used for a BCC announcement has a high anxiety-producing meaning for the patient. The announcement of each skin cancer should be made during a dedicated consultation, with more time devoted to the patient and with specific empathy, in order to improve reassurance of the patient.

First prospective study of the recognition process of melanoma in dermatological practice.

BACKGROUND: Early detection is crucial to improve melanoma prognosis. Different diagnostic guides such as the ABCD rule (asymmetry [A], irregularity of borders [B], unevenness of distribution of color [C], and diameter [D]) have been proposed to identify melanoma, but their efficacy in real life is questionable. We investigated the recognition process of melanoma by dermatologists to use as a model to improve self-detection in the general population and to train students and general practitioners. OBJECTIVES: To understand the major principles of the recognition process of nevi and melanoma unconsciously used by dermatologists. DESIGN: Prospective survey recording the immediate perceptions of dermatologists of the morphologic features of the lesion and intuitive diagnostic opinion about 4036 consecutive resected nevi and melanoma. SETTING: One hundred thirty-five volunteer dermatologists in their daily practices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceptions of the image best explaining the diagnostic opinion and best predicting the final diagnosis by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The immediate diagnostic opinion of the dermatologist is mainly explained by an unconscious reference to the overall pattern compared with the common nevi, but also compared with the other nevi of the individual (the "ugly duckling sign"). The dermatologist's ability to discriminate between nevi and melanoma relies on the assessment of the overall pattern, the ugly duckling sign, and the knowledge of a recent change. A separate or combined analysis of individual morphologic criteria such as ABCD does not seem to play a major role in this recognition process. CONCLUSIONS: Persons most skilled at the clinical detection of melanoma seem to unconsciously rely on cognitive (overall pattern) and comparative (ugly duckling sign) processes rather than an algorithm of morphologic criteria (ABCD). These concepts could be tested in the medical training of general practitioners and education of the general population, where they might be more efficient than algorithms such as the ABCD criteria.

Efficacy of Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To summarize evidence about the recurrence of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) following Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Pascal, Biosis, CisMef, BDSP, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge databases were searched for the period January 1, 1995, to August 31, 2011. Search terms were Mohs micrographic surgery, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and their synonyms. No language restriction was used. STUDY SELECTION Two of us selected randomized controlled trials or nonrandomized trials comparing the recurrence of DFSP among patients undergoing MMS vs wide local excision. The search retrieved 384 references, of which 31 were reviewed in detail. DATA EXTRACTION Twenty-three nonrandomized trials (4 comparative and 19 noncomparative) were included, from which data were extracted by 2 of us independently. The methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. DATA SYNTHESIS Moderate-quality evidence (level B) was found for recurrence of DFSP after MMS (1.11%; 95% CI, 0.02%-6.03%) vs after wide local excision (6.32%, 95% CI, 3.19%-11.02%). A mean raw recurrence rate of 1.03% (95% CI, 0.37%-2.22%) was found after MMS among 19 nonrandomized noncomparative trials (low-quality evidence [level C]). The mean follow-up periods ranged from 26 to 127 months. The mean time to recurrence was 68 months. CONCLUSIONS A weak recommendation is given in favor of MMS or similar surgical techniques with meticulous histologic evaluation of all margins as the first-line therapy for DFSP, particularly in recurrence-prone regions. Attention should be given to longer than a 5-year follow-up period. High-quality trials with sufficient follow-up periods should be encouraged.