Overdiagnosis or early detection? The controversy of melanoma in situ.

As melanoma in situ (MIS) diagnoses rise, concerns about overdiagnosis are growing — with real implications for patients, clinicians and the health system.In this episode of our podcast Melanoma Insights for Professionals, experts from dermatology, pathology, psychology and research come together to explore the drivers of overdiagnosis, the psychological impact of an MIS label, and the role of emerging diagnostic tools and data.This podcast is suitable for multidisciplinary specialist, primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals.SPEAKERSDr Peter Ferguson - Pathologist, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Melanoma Institute AustraliaDr Christoph Sinz - Confocal Microscopy Dermatologist, Melanoma Institute AustraliaClaire Gore - Senior Clinical Psychologist, Melanoma Institute AustraliaDr Ismael Vergara - Senior Computational Biologist, Melanoma Institute Australia | Adjunct Senior Lecturer, The University of SydneyRESOURCESMIA's Patient GuidesYour Guide to Melanoma In-SituREFERENCESBjørch MF, Gram EG, Brodersen JB Overdiagnosis in malignant melanoma: a scoping review BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2024;29:17-28.Cramb SM, Duncan EW, Aitken JF, Soyer HP, Mengersen KL, Baade PD. Geographical patterns in melanoma incidence across Australia: Can thickness differentials reveal the key drivers? Ann Cancer Epidemiol 2020;4:11Daniel Lindsay, Katy J L Bell, Catherine M Olsen, David C Whiteman, Thanya Pathirana, Louisa G Collins, Estimating the magnitude and healthcare costs of melanoma in situand thin invasive melanoma overdiagnosis in Australia British Journal of Dermatology, 2024;191(6): 906–913,Patel VR, Roberson ML, Pignone MP, Adamson AS. Risk of Mortality After a Diagnosis of Melanoma In Situ. JAMA Dermatol.2023;159(7):703–710.For more practice-changing education, visit the Melanoma Education Portal (melanomaeducation.org.au).-------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are a General Practitioner who gets invited to dozens of webinars a month. The General Practice Clinical Sessions Podcast is designed for you.Instead of giving up an evening with your family for a live webinar or your weekend for a conference, you can listen to it here whenever it's convenient, in half the time and while you are commuting, exercising or even walking the dog.It's the same education, without interrupting your life.GPs can also earn CPD hours.Earn Educational Activity (EA) CPD without sacrificing time with your family.Listen to your Clinical Sessions Podcasts on your commute or while you exercise. Then each week, calculate the amount of time you invest listening and count that as self claimed Educational Activities (EA).Earn Reviewing Performance (RP) CPD without sacrificing time with your family.After each podcast, pause for a few minutes and identify and summarise 3 key points relevant to your scope of practice.Identify the key clinical learnings that may be incorporated into the clinical assessment, work-up and/or management plan for appropriate patients.If relevant, would you change any of your management strategies for those patients identified by appropriate screening, examination and investigation.Invest 10 minutes per podcast mentally reviewing your practice. When you listen to 6 podcasts per week, you have earned an hour of Reviewing Performance CPD you can self claim.Remember to document your learning!Earn Measuring Outcomes (MO) CPD without sacrificing time with your family.To claim MO, you need:A baseline measurementA change in practiceA re-measurementReflection on the outcome1. Identify a measurable change. After the podcast, ask:“What will I do differently on Monday?”Example:Start using a screening toolChange prescribing habitsIncrease documentation of a risk factor2. Measure your baseline (quick audit). Do a small, realistic auditExamples:Review last 10 patients with condition X% who had guideline-based management% with documented counselling3. Implement the change. Apply the idea from the podcast for 2–4 weeksCould be as simple as a checklist, template, or reminder4. Re-measure. Repeat t