Accuracy of dermatoscopy for the diagnosis of nonpigmented cancers of the skin

Background Nonpigmented skin cancer is common, and diagnosis with the unaided eye is error prone. Objective To investigate whether dermatoscopy improves the diagnostic accuracy for nonpigmented (amelanotic) cutaneous neoplasms. Methods We collected a sample of 2072 benign and malignant neoplastic lesions and inflammatory conditions and presented close-up images taken with and without dermatoscopy to 95 examiners with different levels of experience. Results The area under the curve was significantly higher with than without dermatoscopy (0.68 vs 0.64, P P Limitations The study deviated from a real-life clinical setting and was potentially affected by verification and selection bias. Conclusions Dermatoscopy improves the diagnosis and management of nonpigmented skin cancer and should be used as an adjunct to examination with the unaided eye.