Follow-up of patients with cutaneous melanoma who were treated with curative intent /

Follow-up healthcare providers should consider the appropriateness of the diagnostic imaging coupled with the health of the patient, the potential risk of accumulated radiation exposure, and the available treatment options. [...] The members of the Working Group considered other clinical practice guidelines and their clinical experience, taking into account the stage of the originally diagnosed melanoma, the known recurrence rate for that stage, and the presence of ulceration, lymph node status, and mitotic rate. [...] In order to create a recommendation, members of the Working Group relied on a consensus process and weighed the ability of the test to inform the next stage of treatment and the availability of treatment options against the overuse of the test and the health of the patient. [...] For these reasons and due to the lack of data in the literature, the Working Group members deemed it inappropriate to provide a list of potential signs and symptoms. [...] Key Evidence for Recommendation 5 A cohort study, which assessed the use of dermoscopy and photo surveillance and consisting of 87% patients previously diagnosed with invasive melanoma and 13% melanoma-naïve patients, found that 38% of new melanomas were detected with the aid of photo surveillance, and 39% were detected with the aid of sequential digital dermoscopy imaging [26].