Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

European Expert Consensus on Essential Variables for Teledermatological Assessment of Skin Tumours

Detlefsen, Alexander ; Vestergaard, Tine ; Ternov, Niels Kvorning ; Konge, Lars ; Ingvar, Åsa LU orcid ; Nielsen, Kari LU orcid and Assersen, Kasper Bostlund (2026) In Acta Dermato-Venereologica 106.
Abstract

Teledermatology is increasingly used for the assessment of suspicious skin tumours, yet referral content remains poorly standardized. To develop a European expert consensus on the essential clinical and visual variables required for teledermatological assessment of primary skin tumours. A 3-round modified Delphi study was conducted among experienced dermatologists. In round 1, participants proposed essential variables. In round 2, variables were rated for essentiality, clinical relevance and feasibility. In round 3, binary voting was used to define final consensus. Consensus was predefined as ≥67% agreement. Interquatile ranges were calculated to assess response stability. A total of 47 variables were proposed in round 1. Following... (More)

Teledermatology is increasingly used for the assessment of suspicious skin tumours, yet referral content remains poorly standardized. To develop a European expert consensus on the essential clinical and visual variables required for teledermatological assessment of primary skin tumours. A 3-round modified Delphi study was conducted among experienced dermatologists. In round 1, participants proposed essential variables. In round 2, variables were rated for essentiality, clinical relevance and feasibility. In round 3, binary voting was used to define final consensus. Consensus was predefined as ≥67% agreement. Interquatile ranges were calculated to assess response stability. A total of 47 variables were proposed in round 1. Following quantitative scoring, 34 variables progressed to round 3. Twelve variables met the predefined consensus threshold, primarily related to image quality and lesion characteristics. Sensitivity analyses using geographic subgroups and higher consensus thresholds demonstrated that image-quality variables were the most robust. This European expert consensus defines a focused and clinically practical core dataset for teledermatological assessment of skin tumours. These variables may support standardization of referrals and facilitate future validation and AI-assisted workflows.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
consensus, Delphi, referral standards, skin tumours, Teledermatology, teledermoscopy
in
Acta Dermato-Venereologica
volume
106
article number
adv-2026-0512
publisher
Medical Journals Limited
external identifiers
  • pmid:42163824
  • scopus:105039580189
ISSN
0001-5555
DOI
10.2340/actadv.v106.adv-2026-0512
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © Author(s).
id
5f8698b3-a20a-48df-8cbb-6be45d02b1b3
date added to LUP
2026-08-25 15:48:09
date last changed
2026-09-08 16:35:30
@article{5f8698b3-a20a-48df-8cbb-6be45d02b1b3,
  abstract     = {{<p>Teledermatology is increasingly used for the assessment of suspicious skin tumours, yet referral content remains poorly standardized. To develop a European expert consensus on the essential clinical and visual variables required for teledermatological assessment of primary skin tumours. A 3-round modified Delphi study was conducted among experienced dermatologists. In round 1, participants proposed essential variables. In round 2, variables were rated for essentiality, clinical relevance and feasibility. In round 3, binary voting was used to define final consensus. Consensus was predefined as ≥67% agreement. Interquatile ranges were calculated to assess response stability. A total of 47 variables were proposed in round 1. Following quantitative scoring, 34 variables progressed to round 3. Twelve variables met the predefined consensus threshold, primarily related to image quality and lesion characteristics. Sensitivity analyses using geographic subgroups and higher consensus thresholds demonstrated that image-quality variables were the most robust. This European expert consensus defines a focused and clinically practical core dataset for teledermatological assessment of skin tumours. These variables may support standardization of referrals and facilitate future validation and AI-assisted workflows.</p>}},
  author       = {{Detlefsen, Alexander and Vestergaard, Tine and Ternov, Niels Kvorning and Konge, Lars and Ingvar, Åsa and Nielsen, Kari and Assersen, Kasper Bostlund}},
  issn         = {{0001-5555}},
  keywords     = {{consensus; Delphi; referral standards; skin tumours; Teledermatology; teledermoscopy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Medical Journals Limited}},
  series       = {{Acta Dermato-Venereologica}},
  title        = {{European Expert Consensus on Essential Variables for Teledermatological Assessment of Skin Tumours}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v106.adv-2026-0512}},
  doi          = {{10.2340/actadv.v106.adv-2026-0512}},
  volume       = {{106}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}