Phone photos could cut the wait for melanoma checks
NCT ID NCT03137511
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
When a general practitioner spots a skin lesion that might be melanoma, the patient is referred to a dermatologist, but some never go and others wait too long. This trial tests whether the GP calling the dermatologist directly and emailing a smartphone photo of the lesion shortens the time to that consultation. Researchers are enrolling 270 adults with a suspicious skin lesion who are referred by a participating GP. The main measure is how long it takes from the GP visit to the dermatologist visit for patients whose lesion turns out to need removal.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Smartphone photographs of suspicious skin lesions sent by the general practitioner to a dermatologist
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could shorten the wait for a dermatologist and help catch melanoma at an earlier, thinner stage, when treatment works best.
- What could go wrong
- Photos taken on a phone may miss subtle signs a dermatologist would catch in person, and the approach depends on dermatologists being available to review them quickly. The trial measures timing and referral completion, not whether people live longer.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
270 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
May 2017
- Finished
-
Nov 2018
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Patients: * Consulting a general practitioner participating in the study, * Having a suspicious cutaneous lesion of melanoma according to the MG, * Referred to a dermatologist who agreed to participate in the study, * \> = 18 years of age, with written informed consent, * Affiliated to a social security scheme Exclusion Criteria: Patients: * Consulting a general practitioner who does not participate in the study, * Having no suspect melanoma lesion according to MG, * Referred to the dermatologist for symptoms or pathologies unrelated to a suspicion of melanoma * Wishing to consult a dermatologist who refused to participate in the study, * Refusing the transmission by mail of 2 anonymised photos, * \<18 years of age, or with no written informed consent. * Major under tutelage, under curatorship
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Patients at risk for melanoma are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
University Hospital
Nantes, France