The Canary Islands Health Service, attached to the Ministry of Health, has acquired a total of 1,373 polarized dermatoscopes and 41 hybrid dermatoscopes with camera for distribution in all Health Areas of the islands, thus reinforcing the diagnostic capacity of skin lesions and early detection of skin cancer in Primary Care centers.
The implementation of dermatoscopy in Primary Care is part of the +AP Strategy of the Canary Islands, whose objective is to provide health centers with advanced tools that allow for greater resolution capacity and agility in decision-making and reduce the overload of Hospital Care.
With an investment of 542,050 euros, included in the Action Plan for Primary Care promoted by the Ministry of Health, this action will improve the diagnostic capacity in the early detection of skin cancer, ensuring that the Family Medicine consultations of the SCS centers have this diagnostic tool.
Distribution and equipment
The provision of these new equipment will complete the availability of dermatoscopes in the Family Medicine consultations of the Primary Care centers of all the Health Areas of the archipelago, with the following distribution planned by islands:
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Gran Canaria: 599 polarized dermatoscopes and fifteen hybrids.
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Tenerife: 476 polarized dermatoscopes and fifteen hybrids.
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Lanzarote: 116 polarized dermatoscopes and five hybrids.
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Fuerteventura: 95 polarized dermatoscopes and five hybrids.
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La Palma: 65 polarized dermatoscopes and five hybrids.
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La Gomera: fifteen polarized dermatoscopes and two hybrids.
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El Hierro: ten polarized dermatoscopes and two hybrids.
Teledermatology
The availability of this advanced dermatoscope tool with camera will facilitate the sending of high-resolution images from Primary Care to the Dermatology services of Hospital Care to advance in the diagnostic processes, thus allowing the implementation of teledermatology throughout the network of Primary Care centers on the islands.
This initiative is part of the commitment of the Canary Islands Health Service to improve Primary Care and the use of innovative technologies that facilitate early diagnosis and prevention of diseases with high impact on the population.
- Early detection of skin cancer
- Dermatoscopy is a key technique for the early detection of suspicious skin lesions, increasing the sensitivity and specificity of skin cancer diagnosis by fifteen and twenty-five percent, respectively, compared to conventional clinical photographs.
Skin cancer, including melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, represents a significant public health problem. The incorporation of dermatoscopy in health centers will allow from the Family Medicine consultations to identify suspicious lesions more effectively and refer the necessary cases to the Dermatology services more quickly.
In Spain, it is estimated that approximately 20,392 new cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in 2023, representing about 8.21 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the country. Of these, 14,430 were non-melanoma carcinomas and 5,962 corresponded to melanomas. Skin cancer is one of the most common worldwide and its incidence has been increasing in recent decades.
According to the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV), the incidence of skin cancer in Spain has increased by approximately 40% in the last four years. Annually, more than 78,000 new cases are diagnosed, and it is expected that by 2040 melanoma will become the second tumor in overall incidence and the first in men, surpassing colon and lung cancer.
Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, mainly due to unprotected sun exposure, is the main risk factor for developing skin cancer. Therefore, it is essential to adopt preventive measures, such as the use of sunscreens, appropriate clothing and avoid sun exposure during the hours of greatest intensity.
In the Canary Islands, prevention measures must be extreme, given that exposure to ultraviolet rays is very high.