Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 15;8(1):54-68.
doi: 10.3390/dermatopathology8010011.

Screening for Melanoma and Other Skin Cancer Shows a Higher Early Melanoma Incidence: Social Educational Program "Life Fear-Free"

Lev Demidov  1 , Igor Samoylenko  1 , Nina Vand  2 , Igor Utyashev  1 , Irina Shubina  1 , Igor Sinelnikov  2
Affiliations

Screening for Melanoma and Other Skin Cancer Shows a Higher Early Melanoma Incidence: Social Educational Program "Life Fear-Free"

Lev Demidov et al. Dermatopathology (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: The screening program Life Fear-Free (LFF) aimed at early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma (CM) was introduced in Samara, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, and Krasnodar (Russia) in 2019.

Objectives: To analyze the impact of the program on early CM and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) detection.

Methods: According to the social educational campaign, people were informed about CM risk factors and symptoms and were invited for skin examination. The program planned to involve 3200 participants in total. Participants with suspicious lesions were invited for excisional biopsy.

Results: 3143 participants, including 75.4% women, were examined for skin lesions. The average age of the participants was 43.7 years. Mostly skin phototypes II and III were registered (48.2% and 41.0%, respectively); 3 patients had CM, 15 had basal cell carcinoma, and 1 had Bowen's disease, which were confirmed histologically. All detected melanomas had Breslow's thickness of 1 mm.

Conclusion: The participants showed high interest in early skin cancer detection programs. The incidence rate of CM and NMSCs among the program participants was higher than in general public. The early disease grade was proven for the detected CMs and NMSCs. The study has shown that it is important to continue such programs.

Keywords: cutaneous melanoma; melanoma screening; skin cancers; social and educational program.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The flow chart of the study of the program “Life Fear-Free”.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of the participants by skin phototype in the studied regions. (A) All participants. (B) Participants with suspected melanoma or other skin cancers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of the participants by previous sunburns in the studied regions. (A) All participants. (B) Participants with suspected melanoma or other skin cancers.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of the participants by the cancer in their personal history in the studied regions. (A) All participants. (B) Participants with suspected melanoma or other skin cancers.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution of the participants by the malignancies in the family history in the studied regions. (A) All participants. (B) Participants with suspected melanoma or other skin cancers.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Distribution of the participants by the skin nevi in the studied regions. (A) All participants. (B) Participants with suspected melanoma or other skin cancers.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Distribution of the participants by age and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Kaprin A., Starinsky V., Shakhzadova O. Status of Oncological Healthcare for the Population of Russia in 2019. P.A. Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Center affiliated to FSBI NMRRC of the Ministry of Health of Russia; Moscow, Russia: 2020. 239p
    1. Van Akkooi A.C., de Wilt J.H., Verhoef C., Schmitz P.I., van Geel A.N., Eggermont A.M., Kliffen M. Clinical relevance of melanoma micrometastases (<0.1 mm) in sentinel nodes: Are these nodes to be considered negative? Ann. Oncol. 2006;17:1578–1585. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdl176. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Samoylenko I., Kharkevich G., Utyashev I.A., Vishnevskaya Y.V., Orlova K.V., Demidov L.V. Do we have early detection of cutaneous melanoma in Russia? Single-institution observational study. J. Clin. Oncol. 2014;32(Suppl. 15):e20027
    1. Elmore J.G., Barnhill R.L., Elder D.E., Longton G.M., Pepe M.S., Reisch L.M., Carney P.A., Titus L.J., Nelson H.D., Onega T. Pathologists’ diagnosis of invasive melanoma and melanocytic proliferations: Observer accuracy and reproducibility study. BMJ. 2017;28:357. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j2813. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Analytical Report on the Level of Awareness of Russians about Melanoma and Willingness to Monitor the Condition of Their moles on Their Own or by a Doctor. [(accessed on 5 June 2020)];2019 Available online: https://wciom.ru/index.php?id=236&uid=9941.

LinkOut - more resources