Australian Study Finds General Practitioners Tend to Adhere to Guidelines When Treating Melanoma

Source: AJMC, April 2022

The finding is important because evidence suggests it is becoming more common for patients to receive care from a general practitioner for skin cancer, versus a surgeon or dermatologist.

The high rate of melanoma management by general practitioners (GPs), as opposed to specialists, does not appear to impact survival rates or the likelihood that guidelines are followed, according to a new report based on treatment data from Australia and New Zealand.

As of 2014, about half of Australian patients (49%) with melanomas had their cases handled by GPs, rather than by dermatologists or surgeons, according to corresponding author Cliff Rosendahl, MBBS, PhD, of the University of Queensland. That rate was up from 43% of patients in 2003.

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