Early Detection of Skin Cancer by Family Physicians: A Pilot Project

Abstract

Background: Malignant melanoma is rising quickly in incidence and mortality rates. Family physicians (FPs) have been reported to lack confidence in diagnosing skin cancers. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether an educational intervention can improve FPs' abilities to diagnose skin cancers. Methods: The design was a prospective, randomized trial which included a skin cancer questionnaire, a video intervention, and a skin biopsy review. Results: Pre-intervention, FPs answered 57% of the questions correctly on the skin cancer questionnaire. Post-intervention, the video intervention group scored higher than did the control group. The video intervention group removed 10% fewer benign lesions and almost 3 times more malignant lesions compared with their pre-intervention biopsy rate. No findings were statistically significant. Conclusion: An educational intervention may improve FPs' knowledge and diagnosis of skin cancer. Our results may guide future studies with larger sample sizes in developing a skin cancer continuing medical education (CME) course for FPs.