Melanoma detection by optical and digital dermoscopy : epidemiology in Belgium

Melanoma is a potentially highly aggressive type of skin cancer, particularly if not diagnosed early. Dermoscopy enables us to observe certain structures invisible to the naked eye within pigmented tumours, and has proven efficacious for the diagnosis of incipient melanomas. Digital dermoscopy enables dermoscopic imaging results to be saved, allowing to observe the tumours evolution over time. The first part of this thesis demonstrates that, with access to digital dersmoscopy, physicians are able to dramatically reduce the number of unnecessary excisions, resulting in significantly lower costs. The second part of this thesis addresses the subject of quality of life in melanoma patients according to their stage. Our results and the melanoma disease model we constructed permitted to, on the one hand, calculate the melanoma DALY (disability-adjusted life year) per stage, and, on the other hand, develop a pilot study evaluating the cost-effectiveness of dermoscopy.