Observational studyThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2014
Skin cancer excision performance in Scottish primary and secondary care: a retrospective analysis.
Observational study in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Role of General Practitioners in Actinic Keratosis Management in Europe: A Dermato-Oncologists Initiative.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Expanding Community Skin Cancer Services in the UK: Outcomes of Specialist-Led Head and Neck Surgery.Cureus · 2025Article
- Measuring the quality of skin cancer management in primary care: A scoping review.The Australasian journal of dermatology · 2023Article
- Article
- Incomplete Excisions of Melanocytic Lesions: Rates and Risk Factors.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2021Article
- Clinicopathological Factors Associated with Incomplete Excision of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2020Article
- Basal Cell Carcinoma Surgery in general practice: Is there a role for the local General Practitioner?Malaysian family physician : the official journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia · 2020Review
- High-risk basal cell carcinoma excision in primary care: a retrospective observational study of compliance with NICE guidance.BMJ open · 2019Observational
- Differences in Rate of Complete Excision of Basal Cell Carcinoma by Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons and General Practitioners: A Large Cross-Sectional Study.Dermatology (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Skin cancer excision performance in Scottish primary and secondary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- Authors' response.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- GPs' skin cancer excisions.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- Skin diseases in primary care: what should GPs be doing?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- Who Should Carry Out Skin Cancer Excisions? A Systematic Review.Journal of cutaneous and aesthetic surgeryReview
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn contrast with most published evidence, studies from north-east Scotland suggest that GPs may be as good at treating skin cancers in primary care as secondary care specialists.
aimTo compare the quality of skin cancer excisions of GPs and secondary care skin specialists in east and south-east Scotland. DESIGN AND
settingA retrospective analysis of reports from GPs in Lothian, Fife, and Tayside regions.
methodSkin cancer histopathology reports from GPs in Lothian, Fife, and Tayside regions in 2010 were compared with reports from skin specialists in November 2010. The histopathology reports were rated for completeness and adequacy of excision.
resultsA total of 944 histopathology reports were analysed. In 1 year, GPs biopsied or excised 380 skin cancers. In 1 month, dermatologists biopsied or excised 385 skin cancers, and plastic surgeons 179 skin cancers. 'High risk' basal cell carcinomas (BCC) comprised 63.0% of BCC excised by GPs. For all skin cancer types, GPs excised smaller lesions, and had a lower rate of complete excisions compared with skin specialists. A statistical difference was demonstrated for BCC excisions only.
conclusionGPs in east and south-east Scotland excise a number of skin cancers including malignant melanoma (MM), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and high-risk BCC. Despite removing smaller lesions, less commonly on difficult surgical sites of the head and neck, GP excision rates are lower for all skin cancers, and statistically inferior for BCC, compared with secondary care, supporting the development of guidelines in Scotland similar to those in other UK regions. Poorer GP excision rates may have serious consequences for patients with high-risk lesions.
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