Photometric method for early detection of skin melanoma

Diagnostic results of 327 pigmented skin lesions in 147 patients were presented. Before surgical removal, lesions were scanned with the SIAscope V (Astron Clinica Ltd., Cambridge, UK). The assessment of photometric image of 2-5 scans was carried out in accordance with the classification devised at the P.A. Gertsen Moscow Research Institute of Oncology. The photometric method was found to be highly effective in non-invasive diagnosis of skin melanoma with sensitivity of 96 %. The analysis of scan results showing the melanin content in the papillary layer of a derma and status of blood vessels and collagen fibers is the most informative in differentiation of malignant melanoma from benign pigmented skin lesions (SIA scans 3, 4 and 5).