Fit for Dermatoscopy - Video course on skin cancer diagnostics
by Prof. Andreas Blum
The following video lessons by Prof. Andreas Blum, a dermatoscopy expert, give viewers a comprehensive understanding of the basics of dermatoscopy. The training content is based on ‘Diagnostic Eye’, his proprietary algorithm. The course also covers the principles and techniques that are essential for accurately examining the skin with a dermatoscope.
Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Blum
- An internationally recognised expert, lecturer and consultant in dermatoscopy / dermatology and skin cancer
- Over 230 publications, over 2,000 lectures and webinars worldwide
- A dermatologist with his own practice in Constance, Germany
‘Fit for Dermatoscopy’ video course
Prof. Blum gives short, succinct explanations of what the different colours and shapes of naevus mean. He goes into detail when discussing the diagnosis of malignant types of naevus such as melanoma or basal cell carcinoma, not to mention rarer tumours such as Merkel cell carcinoma. He also explains the various types of benign naevus – all using specific case studies.
The dermatoscopy video course is aimed specifically at dermatologists starting out in clinical practice and at general practitioners and other healthcare professionals who would like to improve their diagnostic skills in detecting skin cancer.
In three series, the individual educational videos guide viewers through the intricacies of dermatoscopic diagnosis one step at a time. Course language: English.
Introductory video: Overview of the course content in all three series (3:39)
Series 1: Basics of Dermatoscopy (3 videos)
Episode 1 – A short glimpse into physics of dermoscopy (5:47)
Dermatoscopy with a contact plate and contact liquids. What is visible with polarised light?
Episode 2 - Colors in dermoscopy (8:04)
Colours of skin lesions – What role do melanin, keratin and haemoglobin play?
Episode 3 - Management decision of malignant and benign skin lesions (9:35)
Approach to diagnostics and treatment of benign and malignant lesions.
Series 2: Dermoscopic diagnoses based on the ‘Diagnostic Eye’
Intro to series 2 – Overview of episodes 4 – 8: melanocytic lesions (1:24)
Common naevi, severe dysplasia, melanoma in situ, invasive melanoma and recurrent naevi.
Episode 4 – Common naevi (8:50)
Different structures and pigmentation types, distinction between Reed naevus and melanoma.
Episode 5 – Common naevi vs. severe dysplasia (5:48)
Learn how naevi change with age and the associated malignancy risk.
Episode 6 – Birth of melanoma: melanoma in situ (13:33)
Detecting melanoma across various areas and types of skin.
Episode 7 – Invasive melanoma (7:27)
How to detect malignant lesions early on. Key signs such as white lines under polarisation or pink-coloured naevi.
Episode 8 – Recurrent naevus vs. melanoma (5:59)
What to pay attention to on encountering chaotic growth, pigmentation beyond excision scars and repigmentation on old scars.
Episode 9 – Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) (11:15)
What are the three major markers that point to a BCC? And why studying advanced stages helps identifying early-stage carcinomas.
Episode 10 – Actinic Keratosis and Bowen’s Disease (7:04)
How does actinic keratosis look like? And learn why Bowen’s disease can be mistaken for some type of melanoma.
Episode 11 – Keratoacanthoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) (4:54)
How does keratoacanthoma present under the dermatoscope and learn how whitish areas can be a hint for a SCC.
Episode 12 – Rare malignant skin lesions (3:35)
Merkel cell carcinoma or Kaposi sarcoma do not show any specific patterns. How to make a diagnosis?
Episode 13 – Lentigo simplex and seborrheic keratosis (11:49)
How do the flat, homogeneous structures of lentigo simplex develop into seborrheic keratosis? Benign and very common, the seborrheic keratosis comes in wide variation and can sometimes be tricky to diagnose.
Episode 14 – Lichen planus-like keratosis, ink spot lentigo and clear cell acanthoma (8:19)
Watch different representations of these type of lesions and learn in which cases Prof. Blum sees histopathology as indispensable for diagnosis.
Episode 15 – Dermatofibroma and accessory nipple (8:00)
Prof. Blum presents typical dermatofibroma in different stages in different skin types and shows the difference to accessory nipples under the dermatoscope.
Episode 16 – Angioma and Angiokeratoma (4:48)
Angiomas appear red or bluish with the colour indicating where the lesion is located. Angiokerathoma is an angioma with kerathosis. But be careful with the diagnosis: Prof. Blum shows an example under the dermatoscope that could be mistaken for a nodular melanoma.
Episode 17 – Granuloa pyogenicum (3:47)
This is a benign proliferation that can grow very rapidly, showing structureless red areas and white lines in polarised light in the dermatoscopic view. However, it is important to always differentiate versus (amelanotic) melanoma!
Episode 18 – Hyperplasia of sebaceous glands (2:18)
White-yellow globules surrounded by regular vessels are the dermoscopic features of this benign lesion. Prof. Blum explains how to differentiate versus a basal cell carcinoma.
Episode 19 – Cornu cutaneum (3:24)
This benign lesion mostly seen in older patients is characterised by keratinised skin growth raised above the skin level. After dermoscopic examination, a histopathological examination might be indicated. Learn more about this bizarre lesion in this episode.
Episode 20 – Collision lesions (4:46)
Some lesions are not so clearly to categorize, because they are combined with other lesions: they can be malignant and benign at the same time. There might be malignancy in the epidermis while there is a benign structure underneath in the dermis – and the other way round. Learn more here.
Episode 21 – Vessels of lesions I: Melanocytic benign and malignant lesions (12:16)
Prof. Blum explains how the different formations of vessels give clues for a diagnosis, how to interpret dotted vessels and why putting too much pressure on a lesion with the dermatoscope is not a good idea.
Episode 22 – Vessels of lesions II: Non-melanocytic malignant lesions (11:37)
Not only arborizing vessels indicate a BCC. Learn here what other vessel formations can be present with a BCC. Prof. Blum shows some cases of actinic keratosis, Bowen’s disease, keratoacanthoma and SCC and others.
Episode 23 – Vessels of lesions III, Non-melanocytic benign lesions (9:39)
In this episode, a range of dermatoscopic photos of seborrhoic keratosis; lichen-planus-like keratosis, clear-cell acanthoma, dermatofibroma, angiokerathoma and others are discussed.
Prof. Blum also explains how to differentiate these versus malignant lesions of similar appearance.
Episode 24 – White lines … shiny white streaks (11:07)
White lines in melanocytic and non-melanocytic lesions are an important clue in dermoscopy. They can only be detected in polarised light. White lines appear in malignant diagnoses such as melanoma, BCC and dermal sarcoma but also in some benign lesions like Spitz nevus.
Prof. Blum presents a range of interesting cases and gives tips regarding the management decisions of these lesions.
Series 3: Special Locations
Episode 25 – Head and face (8:24)
What do donuts or strawberries have to do with interpreting lesion diagnoses? Prof. Blum discloses this in this episode and also explains how touching the surface of a lesion on the face can deliver additional clues for diagnosis.
Episode 26 – Palm and sole (7:55)
One of the key questions answered in this episode: how to differentiate between a benign acral nevus and a malignant acral melanoma? The analysis of furrow and ridge patterns on soles and palms is very important for this distinction. Watch here how these look in the dermoscopic image and how to interpret them to find the correct diagnosis.
Episode 27 – Nails (14:24)
In this lecture, Prof. Blum covers the wide spectrum of nail diagnoses. Dermoscopy is valuable for clearly differentiating nevus versus melanoma in melanocytic lesions. This episode also features other interesting cases like Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma, onychomycosis and common warts as well as lentigo and hematoma and their appearance under the dermatoscope.
Episode 28 – Mucosa (11:01)
Mucoscopy – dermoscopy of the mucosa – provides valuable clues for a diagnosis with lesions of the mucosa. Their dermoscopic images can look somewhat different from those of lesions on skin. Prof. Blum introduces and discusses a range of malignant and benign findings.
Episode 29 – Metastases (5:11)
Learn in this video what distinctive patterns cutaneous melanoma metastasis may show in dermoscopy – both of the pigmented and non-pigmented type.