Guidance
This guideline covers how healthcare services for people with skin cancers should be organised. It aims to improve diagnosis and care by recommending which healthcare professionals should be involved and at which stage.
2010 update: the management of low-risk basal cell carcinomas in the community (updated recommendations and evidence on this topic only)
2006 guideline: improving outcomes for people with skin tumours including melanoma (recommendations and evidence)
Recommendations
This guideline recommends that:
- cancer networks should establish 2 levels of multidisciplinary teams
- people with precancerous lesions should be treated by their GP or referred
- people who need specialist diagnosis should be referred to a doctor trained to diagnose skin cancer
- skin cancer teams should work to agreed protocols, including those for high-risk or special groups
- all patients and carers should have access to high-quality information
- information should be collected and more research should be done
Who is it for?
- Healthcare professionals
- Commissioners and providers
- People with skin cancer, their families and carers
Is this guideline up to date?
We checked this guideline in May 2019. Although the cancer service structures have changed, stakeholders indicated that the guideline is still useful to clinical practice. In December 2020, we decided to retain but not update this guideline.