Introduction: The incidence of melanoma increased considerably in recent decades,
representing a significant public health problem. We aimed to evaluate the ability
of non-specialists for the preliminary screening of skin lesions to identify melanoma-suspect
lesions. Materials and Methods: A medical student and a dermatologist specialist examined
the total body scans of 50 patients. Results: The agreement between the expert and
the non-specialist was 87.75% (κ = 0.65) regarding the assessment of clinical significance.
The four parameters of the ABCD rule were evaluated on the 129 lesions rated as clinically
significant by both observers. Asymmetry was evaluated similarly in 79.9% (κ = 0.59),
irregular borders in 74.4% (κ = 0.50), color in 81.4% (κ = 0.57), and diameter in
89.9% (κ = 0.77) of the cases. The concordance of the two groups was 96.9% (κ = 0.83)
in the case of the detection of the Ugly Duckling Sign. Conclusions: Although the
involvement of GPs is part of routine care worldwide, emphasizing the importance of
educating medical students and general practitioners is crucial, as many European
countries lack structured melanoma screening training programs targeting non-dermatologists.
