Comparison of Ophthalmologists versus Dermatologists for the Diagnosis and Management of Periorbital Atypical Pigmented Skin Lesions.

ABSTRACT

Background/Objectives: Lentigo maligna (LM) and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM) are significant subtypes of melanoma, with an annual incidence of 1.37 per 100,000 people in the U.S. These skin tumors, often found in photo-exposed areas such as the face, are frequently misdiagnosed, leading to delayed treatment or unnecessary excisions, especially in the elderly. Facial melanocytic skin tumors (lentigo maligna-LM/lentigo maligna melanoma-LMM) and their simulators (solar lentigo, pigmented actinic keratosis, seborrheic keratosis and lichen planus-like keratosis) often affect the periocular region. Thus, their diagnosis and management can involve different medical figures, mainly dermatologists and ophthalmologists. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of ophthalmologists to diagnose and manage pigmented skin lesions of the periorbital area. Methods: A multicentric, retrospective, cross-sectional study on a dataset of 79 periorbital pigmented skin lesions with both clinical and dermoscopic images was selected. The images were reviewed by six ophthalmologists and two dermatologists. Descriptive statistics were carried out, and the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, with their 95% confidence interval (95% CI), were estimated. Results: Ophthalmologists achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 63.50% (95% CI 58.99-67.85%), while dermatologists achieved 66.50% (95% CI 58.5-73.8). The sensitivity was lower for ophthalmologists in respect to dermatologists, 33.3% vs. 46.9%, respectively. Concerning the case difficulty rating, ophthalmologists rated as "difficult" 84% of cases, while for dermatologists, it was about 30%. Management was also consistently different, with a "biopsy" decision being suggested in 25.5% of malignant lesions by ophthalmologists compared with 50% of dermatologists. Conclusions: Ophthalmologists revealed a good diagnostic potential in the identification of periorbital LMs/LMMs. Given progressive population ageing and the parallel increase in facial/periorbital skin tumors, the opportunity to train new generations of ophthalmologists in the early diagnosis of these neoformations should be considered in the next future, also taking into account the surgical difficulty/complexity of this peculiar facial area.