Skin Cancer and Dermoscopy Training for Primary Care Physicians: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: The primary objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy and effect of an educational training on skin cancer course and dermoscopy use among primary care physicians in rural areas of Colombia. The secondary objective was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of skin cancer diagnosis and detection rate after 3 months of the initial training.

Methods: Twenty-one primary care physicians from 6 rural areas of Colombia participated in a 2-day skin cancer and dermoscopy training, followed by a day-long hands-on session on dermoscopy at a free skin cancer screening event. Pre- and post-tests were performed using clinical and dermoscopic images to evaluate the user’s ability to diagnose and differentiate benign and malignant neoplasms. In addition, participants’ levels of confidence were assessed.

Results: After the training, the sensitivity and specificity of characterizing skin lesions as benign or malignant or providing a specific diagnosis (ie, angioma, seborrheic keratosis, basal cell carcinoma, etc.) increased by 23.6% (62.9% to 86.5%; P < 0.0001) and 21% (54.7% to 75.7%; P < 0.0017), respectively. In addition, levels of confidence when diagnosing skin lesions changed from extremely low or low, to high or extremely high by 20.7% (38.3% to 59%) using dermoscopic images (odds ratio (OR) 3.22; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.67-3.86; P < 0.0001). The secondary objective was not achieved due to loss of follow-up of the majority of participants.

Conclusion: Providers serving populations with limited healthcare access may benefit from education in diagnosing and differentiating skin cancer with the use of dermoscopy, which may ultimately improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs.