Sharper focus on melanoma

By KATHERINE HOBY

MoleMap New Zealand has unveiled a new weapon that uses the internet to help detect skin cancer early.

The Auckland-based company uses Telecom broadband technology to send highly detailed melanograms - images recorded by special cameras - from its nationwide network of clinics to a central database.

The images are stored and also forwarded to doctors to pass on to their patients.

There are 11 diagnostic clinics, from Christchurch to Whangarei, and the company plans to open three more in the next few months.

MoleMap's camera can see moles and lesions with far greater detail and clarity than other cameras used for melanograms.

The images can reveal subcutaneous features.

The information can be recalled for follow-up consultations, to help identify new and changing moles.

Some people can have up to 100 moles, so each file can be huge to send. Telecom's Jetstream broadband internet service ensures the large files arrive quickly at the database.

All patient files are compressed and encrypted to ensure they are kept secure.

Two out of three New Zealanders develop skin cancer at some stage, and one in 26 develops melanoma. This form of cancer claims 200 lives in this country each year, more per head of population than anywhere else in the world.

Adrian Bowling, chief executive of MoleMap, said the ability to transfer images from the point of care to dermatologists was an excellent tool for both patients and practitioners alike.

"It is a very cost-effective way for patients to have moles scanned and diagnosed, and will eventually allow us to drive costs down," he said.

With past photographs of individual moles to look at on the database, there would be less likelihood of mistakes.

"We are less likely to miss potential melanomas, or to cut them out unnecessarily."

In the future, doctors will be able to take their own images of lesions and send them to dermatologists to get results.

Prime candidates for skin cancer

* Two out of three New Zealanders will develop general skin cancer.

* New Zealand has the highest rate of melanoma and skin cancer in the world (19 per cent more than Australia).

* Auckland has become known as the melanoma capital of the world, with an estimated one in 10 suffering a cancerous growth at some time.

* One out of 26 New Zealanders will develop melanoma

* More than 200 people die of melanoma a year

* A changing mole has 400 times the risk of developing into melanoma.

* New Zealand's UV rate has increased by 15 per cent in the past 20 years.

* A recent study predicts a sevenfold increase in melanoma rates for the Australasian region in the next 10 years.

* Excessive sun exposure in the first 10 to 15 years of life increases your chance of developing melanomas threefold.

Herald feature: Health