Rising use of skin cancer apps in Netherlands aids melanoma detection

Skin cancer detection apps are being used more frequently in the Netherlands, where skin cancer ranks as the most common form of the disease and the fastest-increasing type, RTL reports. The apps help users monitor moles and spots, and checks through one leading service have risen sharply in recent years.

SkinVision, one of the main apps, has more than 1 million users in the Netherlands. The number of skin checks performed with it has increased by 24 to 34 percent each year over the past five years.

“Within this growth, we see that an increasingly larger portion of returning users are now routinely checking their skin regularly,” a spokesperson told RTL.

About 60 percent of Dutch residents have the cost covered by health insurance. Without coverage, a single check costs 7 euros, or users can pay 50 euros a year for unlimited checks.

One user, 37-year-old Sharon Deen, regularly photographed moles with SkinVision. For one small red spot on her upper leg, the app advised monitoring. When the spot later itched, she reported the change and received advice to see a doctor.

“I felt a bit embarrassed that I was going to the general practitioner with advice from the app for a cute, small red spot on my upper leg,” Deen told RTL. “But the general practitioner took me seriously. He did not recognize it as skin cancer but cut it out and had it checked.”

Tests confirmed a superficial spreading melanoma, a common type that spreads in width and depth. Additional skin was removed at a clinic. “The general practitioner said, 'You should not have walked around with this for another year,'" she said.

The Melanoma Foundation’s app is also seeing increased use, its chair said. Users can track changes in moles for free and compare their photos with a list of melanomas provided by doctors. “Unlike SkinVision, we do not give advice such as 'go to the doctor,'" the chair said.

Dermatologist and professor Marlies Wakkee from Erasmus MC told RTL that the technology should not face overly strict scrutiny. “A few years ago it was tested. Of 100 skin cancer spots, the AI technology recognized 87. It is not perfect, but recognition by a general practitioner may be even lower.”

She described personal mole monitoring as “the future.” “Half of all cancer diagnoses in the Netherlands are skin cancer. In the coming years we expect many more patients, and that puts pressure on care. If you want to prevent people from going to the doctor unnecessarily, it is good to know your own skin and notice when spots change. Such a suspicious spot can then first be checked in an app like SkinVision, or you can go directly to the general practitioner or dermatologist.”

Erasmus MC is studying how to deploy such technology most efficiently. SkinVision requires users to enter their citizen service number because Dutch health authorities classify it as a medical-dermatological service under the supervision of the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate. The company holds a NEN certificate for information security in health care.