Internal medicine

Retrospective cohort study

Melanoma

Lesion

Signs and symptoms

Engineering

Surgery

Dermatology

Vital signs

Transport engineering

Warning signs

Melanoma diagnosis

Cancer research

Medicine

European Journal of Dermatology

Clinical ABCDE rule for early melanoma detectionBackground: The ABCDE rule systematizes warning signs for malignant melanoma (MM).Objectives: To evaluate whether the ABCDE signs are associated with early detection of MM. Materials & Methods: Based on a retrospective study over 11.5 years, we assessed whether ABCDE signs are associated with early diagnosis of MM.Results: In total, 144 MM were included; 52 (36.1%) in situ and 92 (63.9%) invasive lesions.For 23.6%, the MM were first suspected by an individual other than a dermatologist.The "E sign" was significantly less frequent among in situ lesions (32.7% versus 50.0%; p = 0.044).Based on adjusted analyses, the probability of MM being first suspected by a non-dermatologist consistently increased with the number of ABCDE signs of the lesion, ranging from 8% for a neoplasm with no ABCDE signs to 32% for a lesion with five signs (OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2;p = 0.004).Conclusion: A higher number of ABCDE signs were associated with a greater chance of MM being first suspected by a non-dermatologist, but not in situ MM diagnosis.Relying on the ABCDE rule alone might result in missing early MM lesions.

Clinical ABCDE rule for early melanoma detection