A very interesting and important trial has recently been published that looks at the role and value of confocal microscopy on diagnostic accuracy of melanoma.
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Now, confocal microscopy’s role is limited in primary care currently – although our colleague in Sydney, Professor John Pyne, has been using it.
However, in centres of excellence, confocal has been used for some years. And, as with all technology, it is becoming cheaper, easier to use and more and more effective.
The trial shows that confocal is beneficial in improving melanoma diagnosis, with higher positive predictive value and lower benign: malignant ratio.
The inexorable march of technology in support of doctors diagnosing and treating patients at risk of, and with, melanoma, continues.
Read the full research paper here.
- Prof David Wilkinson
