The use of the Pigmented Lesion Assay to rule out melanoma can minimize avoidable surgical procedures on benign lesions and decrease downstream costs of late-stage melanoma diagnoses, which reduces overall cost of care.

New research shows that DermTech’s Pigmented Lesion Assay can reduce costs for commercial health insurance plans when it’s incorporated into the current care pathway of assessing pigmented skin lesions or moles suspicious for melanoma

The findings appear in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine.

The PLA, a component of the DermTech Melanoma Test, objectively measures genomic markers associated with melanoma within skin tissue samples collected via non-invasive adhesive patches, or Smart Stickers. It is used to identify high-risk lesions and help providers determine the next best treatment: either a biopsy and histopathologic evaluation or clinical surveillance of the lesion in question. Comparatively, the traditional care pathway for evaluating suspicious moles is visual assessment, which is subjective, followed by a potentially avoidable surgical biopsy and histopathologic assessment.

The new findings suggest that use of the PLA to rule out melanoma can minimize avoidable surgical procedures on benign lesions and decrease downstream costs of late-stage melanoma diagnoses, which reduces overall cost of care. 

To determine the per member per month (“PMPM”) net savings of incorporating the PLA into the current care pathway, a Return on Investment (“ROI”) model was developed from a U.S. payor perspective. This model predicted annual net savings of $0.54 PMPM for commercial health plans over a three-year period with incorporation of the PLA.

“There is a clear need for objective, cost-effective technologies to help improve the assessment, classification and management of skin lesions and moles suspicious for melanoma,” says study author Daniel M. Siegel, MD, MS a clinical professor of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, in a news release.  “The PLA offers just that, helping to make sure that the lesions and moles most likely to be malignant are the ones being biopsied.”

“This research study is a testament to how the PLA has the potential to reduce costs for health insurance plans and improve patient care by limiting the number of potentially avoidable biopsies,” adds John Dobak, MD, CEO of DermTech. “As we continue to leverage genomics to advance melanoma detection and dermatology as a whole, we continue to believe that the PLA has the potential to be incorporated into additional insurance plans.”