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CLINICAL REPORT
Diagnostic Efficacy of Digital Dermoscopy and Clinical Findings
in Thin Melanoma of the Lower Limbs
Emi DIKA 1 , Marco Adriano CHESSA 1 , Simone RIBERO 2 , Pier Alessandro FANTI 1 , Carlotta GURIOLI 1 , Martina LAMBERTINI 1 ,
Carlotta BARALDI 1 and Annalisa PATRIZI 1
1
Dermatology, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, and 2 Section of Dermatologic
Surgery, Department of Oncology, Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino Hospital, Turin, Italy
The introduction of dermoscopy has improved the ac-
curacy of diagnosis of melanoma. However, early sta-
ge melanoma can be difficult to diagnose. Eighty-nine
cases of thin melanoma with a Breslow thickness ≤1
mm located on the lower limb and diagnosed between
2008 and 2016 were assessed using 4 dermoscopic al-
gorithms: (i) modified pattern analysis; (ii) ABCD rule
of dermoscopy; (iii) 7-point checklist; and (iv) Men-
zies’ method. Two groups of early stage melanomas
of the legs were identified: “difficult to diagnose mela-
nomas” (DDM) and “