Routine skin cancer screening might be useless, task force says

BOSTON - A panel of experts says getting a routine skin check at your next doctor's visit may not protect you from dying from skin cancer.

After an extensive review of the most current data, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has come to the same conclusion it did in 2016, that there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against routine skin cancer screening in teens and adults without symptoms. 

The Task Force, an independent group of experts in prevention, says more research is needed before it can determine, one way or the other, if the benefits of a visual skin examination in primary care reduces complications or death from skin cancer. 

This, however, does not apply to people with a family history of skin cancer or those with symptoms, such as irregular moles.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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