‘Mind your Moles’ study: protocol of a prospective cohort study of melanocytic naevi
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: Having many melanocytic naevi or ‘moles’ on the skin is the strongest predictor of melanoma; thus, much can be learnt from investigating naevi in the general population. We aim to improve the understanding of the epidemiology and biology of naevi by conducting a 3-year prospective study of melanocytic naevi in adults. Methods and analysis: This is a population-based cohort study of melanocytic naevi in 200 adults aged 20–69 years recruited via the Australian electoral roll. At baseline, participants will complete a questionnaire on their sun behaviour and health and undergo a clinical examination. Three-dimensional (3D) total-body photography will be used to record the images of skin lesions. Pigmented naevi will be analysed in terms of number, diameter, colour and border irregularity using automated analysis software (excluding scalp, beneath underwear and soles of feet). All naevi ≥5 mm will be recorded using the integrated dermoscopy photographic system. A saliva sample will be obtained at baseline for genomic DNA analysis of pigmentation, naevus and melanoma-associated genes using the Illumina HumanCoreExome platform. The sun behaviour and health follow-up questionnaire, clinical examination and 3D total-body photography will be repeated every 6 months for 3 years. The first 50 participants will also undergo manual counts of naevi ≥2 mm and ≥5 mm at baseline, 6-month and 12-month follow-ups. Microbiopsy and excision of naevi of research interest is planned to commence at the 18-month time point among those who agree to donate samples for detailed histopathological and molecular assessment. Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Metro South Health Human Research Ethics Committee in April 2016 (approval number: HREC/16/QPAH/125). The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences.
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In clinical validation study, PanDerm effectively identified malignant lesions among large number of benign ones (216 malignant vs 197,716 benign) from HOP and MYM cohorts.
“In a clinical validation study, PanDerm effectively identified malignant lesions among a large number of benign ones (216 malignant versus 197,716 benign lesions) from the high-risk melanoma of patients (HOP) study49 and mind your model (MYM) study50 cohort (Fig. 4e).”
From A Multimodal Vision Foundation Model for Clinical Dermatology (2025) · cites this paper as [50]
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- Authors
- Koh, U., Janda, M., Aitken, J. F., Duffy, D. L., Menzies, S., Sturm, R. A., Schaider, H., Betz-Stablein, B., Prow, T., Soyer, H. P., & Green, A. C.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Griffith University (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Cancer and Population Studies, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Corresponding author
- Koh, Uyen
- ORCID
- Venue
- BMJ Open
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2018-09
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- e025857
- ISSN
- 2044-6055 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6150134
- OpenAlex
- W2890137987
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 0.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- BMJ Open (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UniSA Research Outputs Repository (University of South Australia) (acceptedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (acceptedVersion)
- QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cutaneous Melanoma Detection and Management
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
- Keywords
- melanocytic naevi, moles, melanoma risk, dermoscopy, pigmentation genes, saliva genotyping, melanoma prevention
- MeSH terms
- Health Risk Behaviors, Adult, Aged, Australia, Biopsy, Genetic Testing, Humans, Middle Aged, Nevus, Pigmented, Photography, Physical Examination, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Research Design, Skin, Skin Neoplasms, Sunlight, Dermoscopy, Tumor Burden, Young Adult
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