A unifying approach to the clinical diagnosis of melanoma including “D” for “Dark” in the ABCDE criteria

Current clinical approaches to melanoma diagnosis have not been associated with a decrease in mortality from this cancer. The components of the new approach presented are, first, a screening examination to look for any lesion that stands out because of being dark, different, or changing; second, when a single lesion is recognized to be of concern for any reason, that lesion is then evaluated in more detail utilizing the ABCDE criteria, with the “D” signifying “Dark” and not “6 mm Diameter” in this mnemonic; and, third, additional discussion of the “ugly duckling” sign and of the recognition of nodular melanomas. Since the Georgia Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery was the first state or national society to endorse this approach, I refer to it as the Georgia approach.