Risk stratification. A practical approach to using epiluminescence microscopy/dermoscopy in melanoma screening

Abstract

Risk stratification of pigmented lesions during melanoma screening is a method of classifying lesions into groups based on their relative risk of being melanoma. Risk stratification accepts the fact that clinical examination with and without ELM is not perfect but uses potential ELM clues to early melanoma to increase the sensitivity of screening. Risk stratification permits the use of all available a priori clinical information and the physician's judgement in making a final management decision for each lesion and for each patient. Risk stratification using ELM is based on two primary concepts: (1) a pigment network suggests a lesion is melanocytic and (2) melanoma causes the network to develop heterogeneous (i.e., irregular) and eccentric (i.e., not centered) pigmentation. In applying ELM risk stratification to melanoma screening the physician follows these four steps: 1. Inspect each lesion carefully for a pigment network. 2. If a pigment network is seen, group lesions by their relative degrees of heterogeneity and eccentricity of the pigment network. 3. If a network is not seen, look for typical patterns of benign lesions and melanoma mimickers. 4. Use the resulting clinical risk class to guide management using all available clinical information combined with clinical judgment.