Australian Family Physician, the flagship journal of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), features a range of clinical, viewpoint and research articles focusing on key issues in general practice today.
The theme for the July issue of AFP is skin cancer and includes the following feature articles:
Skin checks
Rodney Sinclair
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Current clinical guidelines do not recommend systematic skin cancer screening. However, in clinical practice many general practitioners do provide skin checks for their patients. This article discusses the rationale for skin checks, provides a suggested approach to performing skin checks and outlines the role of dermatoscopy and medical photography. A summary of the 10 most common benign lesions encountered during skin checks is also discussed and tips to help interpret pathology reports are provided.
Melanoma – a management guide for GPs
John F Thompson, Richard A Scolyer, Richard F Kefford
The incidence of melanoma in Australia continues to rise. Early diagnosis and management before the melanoma has metastasised provides the best opportunity for a favourable outcome. This article discusses the management of melanoma once a clinical diagnosis has been made.
Nonmelanoma skin cancers – treatment options
Philip Clarke
This article outlines the presentation of common nonmelanoma skin cancers and their treatment options, and highlights which lesions may be best referred for specialist review.
Dermatoscopy in routine practice – ‘Chaos and Clues’
Cliff Rosendahl, Alan Cameron, Ian McColl, David Wilkinson
The use of a dermatoscope in clinical practice has been shown to increase diagnostic accuracy and is considered the standard of care in assessing patients with pigmented skin lesions. This article outlines one method for the effective use of dermatoscopy in diagnosing melanoma and other skin malignancies in general practice.
Also in this issue…
All articles are now available to read online at www.racgp.org.au/afp.
Australian Family Physician is a peer reviewed journal, publishing original articles and reviews dedicated to meeting the ongoing educational requirements of general practitioners. For more information, including subscription to the print version, please visit www.racgp.org.au/afp.