Decrease in nevus biopsies with total body photography

(HealthDay)—Total body photography (TBP) is associated with a reduction in nevus biopsies, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Amanda Truong, from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and colleagues reviewed the records of 926 patients in two pigmented lesion clinics (PLCs)who received TBP. Over a period of at least two years, patients had two or more follow-up visits. The researchers examined the number and rate of nevus biopsies before and after TBP.

The researchers found that the mean number of nevus biopsies was 5.92 per patient, at a mean rate of 1.62 per year, before PLCs and TBP. The same patients had an average of 1.56 biopsies, at a mean rate of 0.34 per year, after TBP in PLCs. Similarly low post-TBP biopsy rates of less than 0.2 per year and per visit were seen for the entire cohort. There were positive correlations between biopsy rates after TBP and decreased age, male gender, and family history of melanoma; there was no positive correlation between biopsy rate after TBP and nevus number.

"Patients at risk for melanoma experienced a 3.8-fold reduction in nevus biopsies after TBP," the authors write. "Younger male patients with family history of melanoma had higher biopsy rates after TBP."

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