MRF to UPSTF: Reconsider Supporting Annual Skin Cancer Checks

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is urging the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF) to reconsider their recent announcement stating that insufficient data exists to support a recommendation for annual skin cancer checks.

“This has the potential to undo years of effort to lower the rate of the fastest growing cancer in the United States,” says Tim Turnham, Executive Director of the MRF, in a statement.

 The USPSTF says “insufficient data exists” to support annual skin checks. “Sadly, many will read this to mean that annual skin checks are unimportant. In fact this statement means only that the critical research needed to generate such data has not been done,” he says.

“This research is important, but time-consuming and costly. The data to support annual skin checks is not likely to be available for many years—if ever,” he says. “Meanwhile, people may become casual about self-examinations and annual skin checks because they misunderstand the USPSTF statement.”

Annual screening is particularly important for people who are at elevated risk– those with red hair, fair skin, light eye color, a family history of melanoma, high number of moles and a history of tanning.