Is mole mapping worth it?

For some patients mole mapping is highly recommended. Here’s how to decide if it’s right for you.

Mole mapping is photography of the entire skin surface so that there is a record of all moles and skin lesions on a given date. Future skin examinations and photographs can be compared against the mole mapping photos to detect skin changes and identify melanomas earlier. The aim of mole mapping is to detect melanomas and other skin cancers earlier, leading to less serious illness and loss of life.

If it detects a melanoma that might not have been discovered otherwise, mole mapping is definitely worth it!

The downsides of mole mapping are:

• It costs more than a simple skin check without mole mapping.
• Some people are uncomfortable being photographed while they are nearly naked.
• Taking, analysing and comparing photographs can take a long time.
• In some clinics that specialise in mole mapping photography, there is no doctor available on site to diagnose or treat suspicious skin lesions, and the patient must go elsewhere for further management.

To decide if mole mapping is worthwhile, it’s important to consider several questions.

Would mole mapping detect a melanoma that would have gone undiagnosed otherwise?

A detailed examination by an accredited skin cancer doctor using a dermoscope will detect most melanomas. Mole mapping can add value to the skin examination when:

• The patient is very likely to have a melanoma, and
• There are so many moles that it’s impossible to decide which moles are new or changing and therefore potentially could be melanomas.

In this situation, the technology of mole mapping is often effective in identifying early melanomas. Australian melanoma management guidelines recommend the use of regular mole mapping in patients with these risk factors.

Patients at lower risk or with fewer moles probably don’t need mole mapping to detect melanomas, but it can be very useful if there are concerns about a possibly new or changing skin lesion. At Spot Check Clinic, we often recommend that you consider mole mapping at your first visit for this reason.

Is mole mapping affordable for me?

Mole mapping takes additional time and no Medicare benefit is payable, so there is always an out-of-pocket cost. Fees vary depending on how many images are taken and whether follow-up comparison is included.

A full body skin check is a doctor-led clinical examination. Mole mapping is a separate imaging service used to record your skin so it can be compared over time.

At Spot Check Clinic, mole mapping is performed using OptimaScan 3D total body photography. This captures a large number of images quickly and creates a baseline record of your skin.

Mole mapping incurs an additional fee on top of a skin check. For more information, see our pricing page.

Some patients choose to take their own photographs between visits. This can be useful for general monitoring, but is different from the structured imaging performed in clinic.

Will I refer to mole mapping photos to see if there are any changes?

Mole mapping is only useful if images are compared over time.

If you have difficulty keeping track of your skin or do not examine it regularly, a set of baseline photographs can help identify what is new or changing.

Your images remain available to you, so they can be used as a reference at future appointments.

Will mole mapping have other benefits for me?

Even if mole mapping doesn’t detect melanomas or other suspicious changes in the skin, it can provide other benefits:

• Peace of mind if a suspect-looking skin lesion is shown to have been present for a long time without changing.
• Avoiding unnecessary excision procedures. Atypical (odd-looking) moles that look the same over a series of mole mapping photos are almost certainly not dangerous and, therefore, don’t need to be removed.

Is mole mapping worth it?

If you answer “yes” to any of the questions above, mole mapping is worth it for you!