1356 – Melanoma surveillance photography – total body photography and digital dermoscopy

New MBS item.

Photography of body regions (total body photography) allows future comparison to look for new pigmented lesions which may be melanoma. Close up high resolution photographs of existing moles and freckles (digital dermoscopy) can be used for future comparison to look for the early changes of melanoma arising in existing moles and freckles. This new digital/computer based technology assists in early detection of melanoma.

Type: Therapeutic

Melanoma is a cancer which arises from the cells in the skin that produce skin colour (pigment cells= melanocytes). Melanomas grow initially in the skin, but as they progress, can spread elsewhere in the body and kill the patient. This process is called metastasis.

Melanoma is a major cause of cancer death in Australia. A major cause of melanoma is sun exposure – especially during childhood. Other factors include genetic predisposition. Risk factors that put people at high risk include: 

1. multiple sunburns; 
2. fair skin; 
3. family history of melanoma; 
4. multiple moles; 
5. irregularly appearing moles (known as dysplastic naevi); 
6. solarium use; and
7. depressed immune system.

• PASC meeting: 
  • 16 - 17 April 2014
  • 11 - 12 December 2014
  • 11 - 12 August 2016
• ESC meeting: 5 October 2017
• MSAC meeting: 23 November 2017