The UAB Pigmented Lesion Clinic provides innovative dermatological care for skin cancer prevention and detection. At the clinic, patients benefit from a combination of photographic mole mapping and dermoscopy.

Full body photographic mole mapping allows the dermatologist to identify a melanoma at an early stage by identifying new moles or changes to pre-existing moles. Patients are photographed in a variety of positions so that documents of the entire body are taken. Suspicious lesions are identified and followed from visit to visit. Because patients visit the clinic every three to six months, they stand a greater chance of having skin cancer detected early.

Dermatoscopy is an innovative technology that allows the dermatologist to see patterns, shapes and colors of a mole that are not visible with the naked eye. With dermatoscopy, the number of biopsies is potentially reduced, since the specific characteristics of a mole are easier to see and moles are easier to follow over time with the dermatoscopic evaluation. Any mole that is determined to have new or changing characteristics is biopsied at the routine mole mapping visit.

Wendy Cantrell, RN, MSN, CRNP, is a nurse practitioner and manager of UAB Dermatology Clinical Research, and she has been working with patients who have visited the Pigmented Lesion Clinic. “Dermatoscopy could potentially help with early detection of skin cancer,” she says. “It saves time and money by reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies. It is cutting edge technology.”

Patients who will benefit the most from the Pigmented Lesion Clinic are those who have:

• A personal history of melanoma
• A family history of melanoma
• A personal history of dysplastic nevi (abnormal moles)
• More than 50 moles

“Typically we follow between 10 and 50 lesions with each mole mapping patient,” Cantrell says. “And if we’re following them, that means we’re not cutting them out. It gives patients peace of mind to know that each mole is being closely monitored at each visit.”

Patients are still urged to continue self examinations and are given a CD of images of moles so they can compare and notify the Pigmented Lesion Clinic if changes arise. Patients are urged to conduct self-skin exams on a monthly basis.

While dermatoscopy and photography are the standard of care in Europe and Australia, most American insurance carriers do not cover these services. The cost for photography for the Pigmented Lesion Clinic is $450, and the visit typically lasts two hours.