New at-home phone app could spot deadly cancer as cases reach...

A NEW phone app you can use at home could detect cases of deadly skin cancer.

It follows warnings that rates of the disease are at an all-time high in the UK.

Smartphone displaying a mole image with a prompt to check image clarity before continuing. — Map My Mole can be used to spot cases of deadly melanoma skin cancer

Over the past three decades, rates of melanoma skin cancer have more than doubled, with UK cancer specialists predicting there could be 26,500 new cases of melanoma every year by 2038.

Currently, around 17,500 people receive a melanoma diagnosis each year, according to Cancer Research UK.

Melanoma is caused by abnormal cells in the skin growing and dividing in an uncontrolled way, often as a result of sun exposure or sunbeds.

It can manifest as changes to moles that were already on your body, or cause new growths on your skin.

An app – called Map My Mole – can be used to examine worrying skin changes and inform people if they need a hospital referral for a new or changing mole, or scaly patch of skin.

Patients who download the app are sent a special lens that they can attach to their phone to take a super detailed picture of their skin.

Photos are then uploaded on to an app to allow consultants to quickly review cases any GP is unsure about, providing results in a matter of days.

A paid version of Map My Mole gives patients three mole checks for £99, while some 915 private clinics have began using it.

But the app is also being trialled by three NHS GP surgeries in Devon and Cornwall, managing to cut skin cancer hospital referrals by 50 per cent, according to the BBC.

Dr Toby Nelson said: “We have reduced the onward referral from a GP to a hospital by over 50 per cent across those three sites.

“Prior to this, the GP would spend around 15 minutes of their time with a patient.

“Now it takes two or four minutes to review the mole online.”

Patients who contact a participating surgery about a mole or lesion can either get sent a lens by post and upload the photographs themselves, or they can come into the GP practice where an assistant will do it for them.

In the app, patients are asked a number of questions about their skin health and any mole or lesions concerning them.

Person using a smartphone to photograph a mole on their arm. — The app is being trialled in three GP surgeries but it's also available privately

Dyplens dermoscope attached to a smartphone. — Patients are sent a lens attachment for their smartphone that can take dermoscope quality images

This information, along with the photos, are then uploaded to the app allowing for a swift review by their GP.

The three GP practices involved in the trial are:

Friary House, Plymouth
Ruby Country Medical Group – Stratton surgery
Ruby Country Medical Group – Holsworthy surgery

Dr Nelson told the BBC that many dermatology centres in the UK, especially in the south-west of England, spent a lot of their time reviewing skin lesions.

What is melanoma, what are the symptoms and how can you prevent it?

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that has a tendency to spread around the body.

It is diagnosed 16,000 times per year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people per year.

The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.

But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.

The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to be sun safe – wear SPF every day, wear a hat and sunglasses and keep out of the sun in the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid sunbeds.

People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.

Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, particularly if it is found early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.

Radiotherapy, medicines and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to try and stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.

What are the symptoms?

The key thing to look out for are changes to an existing mole, or a new mole on your skin.

Most experts recommend using the simple “ABCDE”; rule to look for symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, which can appear anywhere on the body.

There are five letters/words to remember:

Asymmetrical â€“ melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
Border â€“ melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
Colours â€“ melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
Diameter â€“ most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
Enlargement or elevation â€“ a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma

A mole that changes size, shape or colour may be a melanoma.

But other signs to look out for include moles that are:

Swollen and sore
Bleeding
Itchy
Crusty

How deadly is it?

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.

The outlook of a person’s disease depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed.

Survival is better for women than it is for men.

“We don't know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,”; says Cancer Research UK.

The charity says that generally, statistics show that in England, more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with melanoma at stage 1 – when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of skin – will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.This drops to 80 per cent for stage 2.
Some 70 per cent live for a further five years when they are diagnosed in stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
At stage 4, when the melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, almost 30 per cent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.

Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.

Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.

What is melanoma?

Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us the colour of our skin because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.

When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (a sun tan), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun’s rays.

But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.

Too much UV causes sunburn, and this is a sign of damage to the skin’s DNA.

The UV triggers changes in the melanocytes, which makes the genetic material become faulty and cause abnormal cell growth.

People who burn easily are more at risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.

Those with albinism are at the most risk because their skin produces no pigment at all.

He said the vast majority of these patients did not have skin cancer and, if they were able to reduce demand on those services, it would free up time for consultants to see other patients with conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis.

He said: “Patients with other skin conditions may find themselves waiting between six to 18 months, depending on where they are in the UK, before they get that initial dermatology appointment.”

Dr Nelson said he hoped the trial would encourage the NHS to commission use of the app in other areas of the UK.

Analysis byCancer Research UKpublished last year showed that rates of melanoma surged from 21 to 28 per 100,000 people between 2007-09 and 2017-19.

The biggest spike was in the over-80s, with diagnoses soaring by 57 per cent since 2014.

There was also a seven per cent rise in melanoma in 25 to 49-year-olds, but experts were optimistic younger people are now taking greater precautions to protect their skin.

The rise is thought to be due to both the growing and ageing population, and a better awareness of the signs of melanoma leading to a higher diagnosis rate.