You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 134 No. 12, December 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  Study
 This Article
 •Full text
 •PDF
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citation map
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Citing articles on ISI (140)
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Related letter
 •Similar articles in this journal
 Topic Collections
 •Neoplasms
 •Alert me on articles by topic

Epiluminescence Microscopy for the Diagnosis of Doubtful Melanocytic Skin Lesions

Comparison of the ABCD Rule of Dermatoscopy and a New 7-Point Checklist Based on Pattern Analysis

Giuseppe Argenziano, MD; Gabriella Fabbrocini, MD; Paolo Carli, MD; Vincenzo De Giorgi, MD; Elena Sammarco, MD; Mario Delfino, MD

Arch Dermatol. 1998;134:1563-1570.

Objective  To compare the reliability of a new 7-point checklist based on simplified epiluminescence microscopy (ELM) pattern analysis with the ABCD rule of dermatoscopy and standard pattern analysis for the diagnosis of clinically doubtful melanocytic skin lesions.

Design  In a blind study, ELM images of 342 histologically proven melanocytic skin lesions were evaluated for the presence of 7 standard criteria that we called the "ELM 7-point checklist." For each lesion, "overall" and "ABCD scored" diagnoses were recorded. From a training set of 57 melanomas and 139 atypical non-melanomas, odds ratios were calculated to create a simple diagnostic model based on identification of major and minor criteria for the "7-point scored" diagnosis. A test set of 60 melanomas and 86 atypical non-melanomas was used for model validation and was then presented to 2 less experienced ELM observers, who recorded the ABCD and 7-point scored diagnoses.

Settings  University medical centers.

Patients  A sample of patients with excised melanocytic lesions.

Main Outcome Measures  Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the models for diagnosing melanoma.

Results  From the total combined sets, the 7-point checklist gave a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 75% compared with 85% sensitivity and 66% specificity using the ABCD rule and 91% sensitivity and 90% specificity using standard pattern analysis (overall ELM diagnosis). Compared with the ABCD rule, the 7-point method allowed less experienced observers to obtain higher diagnostic accuracy values.

Conclusions  The ELM 7-point checklist provides a simplification of standard pattern analysis because of the low number of features to identify and the scoring diagnostic system. As with the ABCD rule, it can be easily learned and easily applied and has proven to be reliable in diagnosing melanoma.


From the Departments of Dermatology (Drs Argenziano, Sammarco, and Delfino) and Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology (Dr Fabbrocini), Federico II University of Naples, Naples, and the Department of Dermatology, University of Florence, Florence (Drs Carli and De Giorgi), Italy.


RELATED LETTER

Early Melanomas Dermoscopically Characterized by Reticular Depigmentation
Gian Piero Lozzi, Domenico Piccolo, Tamara Micantonio, Davide Altamura, and Ketty Peris
Arch Dermatol. 2007;143(6):808-809.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Dermoscopic Evaluation of Amelanotic and Hypomelanotic Melanoma
Menzies et al.
Arch Dermatol 2008;144:1120-1127.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dermoscopy and the Diagnostic Challenge of Amelanotic and Hypomelanotic Melanoma
Stoecker and Stolz
Arch Dermatol 2008;144:1207-1210.
FULL TEXT  

CASH Algorithm for Dermoscopy Revisited
Henning et al.
Arch Dermatol 2008;144:554-555.
FULL TEXT  

Early Melanomas Dermoscopically Characterized by Reticular Depigmentation
Lozzi et al.
Arch Dermatol 2007;143:808-809.
FULL TEXT  

Comparative Performance of 4 Dermoscopic Algorithms by Nonexperts for the Diagnosis of Melanocytic Lesions
Dolianitis et al.
Arch Dermatol 2005;141:1008-1014.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Microscopic In Vivo Description of Cellular Architecture of Dermoscopic Pigment Network in Nevi and Melanomas
Pellacani et al.
Arch Dermatol 2005;141:147-154.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Limitations of Dermoscopy in the Recognition of Melanoma
Skvara et al.
Arch Dermatol 2005;141:155-160.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Vascular Structures in Skin Tumors: A Dermoscopy Study
Argenziano et al.
Arch Dermatol 2004;140:1485-1489.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dermoscopic Patterns of Benign Volar Melanocytic Lesions in Patients With Atypical Mole Syndrome
Malvehy and Puig
Arch Dermatol 2004;140:538-544.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Melanoma Computer-Aided Diagnosis: Reliability and Feasibility Study
Burroni et al.
Clin. Cancer Res. 2004;10:1881-1886.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dysplastic Nevi
Naeyaert and Brochez
NEJM 2003;349:2233-2240.
FULL TEXT  

Dermoscopy of Pigmented Seborrheic Keratosis: A Morphological Study
Braun et al.
Arch Dermatol 2002;138:1556-1560.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Dermoscopy Allows Better Management of Nail Pigmentation
Tosti and Argenziano
Arch Dermatol 2002;138:1369-1370.
FULL TEXT  

Epiluminescence Microscopy Diagnostic Criteria With Follow-up Computer-Based Monitoring of "Less Suspicious" Lesions May Increase Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Melanoma While Maintaining Adequate Specificity
Menzies
Arch Dermatol 2001;137:378-379.
FULL TEXT  

Automated Epiluminescence Microscopy: Human vs Machine in the Diagnosis of Melanoma
Menzies
Arch Dermatol 1999;135:1538-1540.
FULL TEXT  

Angioma Serpiginosum: A Report of 2 Cases Identified Using Epiluminescence Microscopy
Ohnishi et al.
Arch Dermatol 1999;135:1366-1368.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 1998 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.