25th Anniversary of ABCDEs

25th Anniversary of ABCDEs

One American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest of the major forms of skin cancer. If detected early, melanoma can be successfully treated. “NYU Langone Medical Center is proud to have created a system which successfully diagnoses melanoma and save lives,” said Seth J. Orlow M.D. Ph.D., chairman, The Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and director on Center of Excellence in Cancers of the Skin at NYU Langone Medical Center. “The impact of the ABCDEs has been profound, creating a simple and quick guide for anyone to examine themselves. Few would argue that countless lives have been saved by the development and awareness of the ABCDEs – helping detect the most dangerous form of skin cancer while still curable with simple removal before the cancer has spread.”
The ABCDEs for melanoma detection are:

A – is for Asymmetry where one half of the mole is unlike the other.
B – is for Border where the mole is irregular, scalloped, or poorly defined.
C – is for Color which varies from one area to another or has different shades of tan, brown, black, and sometimes white, red, or blue.
D – is for Diameter of a mole when it is bigger than the size of a pencil eraser.
E – is for Evolving or changing in size, shape, or color.

In 1985, Alfred Kopf M.D., then a professor of Dermatology and now professor emeritus, along with former NYU fellows Robert Friedman, M.D. and Darrell Rigel, M.D., both current NYU faculty created the original ABCDs guide: “Early Detection of Malignant Melanoma: The Role of Physician Examination and Self-Examination of the Skin” which was published in the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Nearly 20 years later, David Polsky M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Dermatology, director of the NYU Pigmented Lesion Clinic, along with Kopf, Friedman, Rigel, and others, added the “E” to the ABCDs which was later published in an article entitled “Early Diagnosis of Cutaneous Melanoma: Revisiting the ABCD Criteria” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, updating the acronym to ABCDEs.
According to experts, minimizing your risk for skin cancer and melanoma is critical. “Performing regular skin self-examinations, using the ABCDEs guide to check for warning signs of skin cancer, especially melanoma, is an important and easy way to detect suspicious moles that could be cancerous.” says Jennifer Stein, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Pigmented Lesion Section at NYU Langone Medical Center.

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