Evaluation of prospectively collected presenting signs/symptoms of biopsy-proven melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and seborrheic keratosis in an elderly male population.

Askari SK, Schram SE, Wenner RA, Bowers S, Liu A, Bangerter AK, Warshaw EM. Evaluation of prospectively collected presenting signs/symptoms of biopsy-proven melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and seborrheic keratosis in an elderly male population. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2007 May 1; 56(5):739-47.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• IIR 01-072 – Evaluation of Store-Forward Teledermatology for Skin Neoplasms

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Presenting signs/symptoms of skin cancer may aid in earlier detection and diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: We sought to compare prospectively collected, presenting signs/symptoms of malignant melanoma (MM), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and seborrheic keratosis (SK). METHODS: This analysis was part of a larger study on teledermatology involving 3039 skin neoplasms in 2152 patients at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center. At presentation, participants were asked about signs/symptoms of specific skin lesions. In all, 912 biopsy-proven MM (39), BCC (411), SCC (238), and SK (224) were included in this analysis. Pearson chi(2) analyses were used to test associations of lesion type and specific signs/symptoms in pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: "No symptoms" was reported more often with MM (82%) as compared with BCC (relative risk [RR] 2.26, confidence interval [CI] 1.86, 2.75), SCC (RR 3.31, CI 2.54, 4.32), or SK (RR 2.0, CI 1.61, 2.48; all P < .0001). Tenderness was more commonly reported with SCC (40%) as compared with MM (RR 15.9, CI 2.28, 110.69), SK (RR 3.0, CI 2.11, 4.39), or BCC (RR 2.6, CI 1.97, 3.38; all P < .0001). Bleeding was more commonly reported with BCC (37%) as compared with SK (RR 2.3, CI 1.67, 3.20), SCC (RR 1.6, CI 1.22, 2.05), or MM (RR 29.8, CI 1.89, 469.65; all P < or = .007). LIMITATIONS: The small number of MM and study population characteristics (elderly, Caucasian, male) limit generalizability. CONCLUSION: This study describes common signs/symptoms of BCC, SCC, and SK. Our findings suggest that MM may be asymptomatic more often than previously recognized.