Assessment of the Diagnostic Performance of Clinical Examinations and High-Frequency Ultrasound in Patients With Pigmented Skin Tumors

Objectives: To investigate whether the integration of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) to routine clinical examinations could improve diagnostic performance and management decision for pigmented skin tumors.

Methods: Three general practitioners trained previously and a dermatologist independently assessed pigmented skin tumors and rendered management decision based on clinical examinations alone or clinical examinations integrating HFUS.

Results: After integrating HFUS, the diagnostic area under the curve (AUC) (0.658-0.693 versus 0.848, all P < .05) and specificity (46.6-58.6% versus 89.7%, all P < .05) for pigmented skin malignancies were improved for general practitioners, meanwhile unnecessary biopsy rate reduced (42.9-53.6% versus 10.7%, P < .001). To the dermatologist, the diagnostic AUC (0.822 versus 0.949, P < .001), sensitivity (81.7% versus 96.7%, P = .012) and specificity (0.828 versus 0.931, P = .031) improved significantly, meanwhile both missed biopsy rate (14.5% versus 4.8%, P = .031) and unnecessary biopsy rate (19.6% versus 7.1%, P = .016) decreased. Additionally, the diagnostic performance of the general practitioner with integrating HFUS could be comparable with the dermatologist based on clinical examinations alone (all P > .05).

Conclusions: As a complementary tool of clinical examinations, HFUS could help physicians differentiate pigmented skin malignancies and manage decision.