Minimum thresholds deemed acceptable by patients and physicians for sensitivity and specificity of mobile skin cancer screening algorithms.

To the Editor: Mobile applications for detection of suspicious skin lesions have the potential to transform skin cancer prevention. 1 Sar-Graycar L. Rotemberg V.M. Matsoukas K. Halpern A.C. Marchetti M.A. Hay J.L. Interactive skin self-examination digital platforms for the prevention of skin cancer: a narrative literature review. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021; 84: 1459-1468https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2020.07.014 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar ,2 John A.M. Ragi S.D. Goldberg D.J. Mobile applications in skin cancer detection: a descriptive analysis. Dermatol Surg. 2021; 47: 1285-1286https://doi.org/10.1097/DSS.0000000000003134 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar Sensitivities and specificities of mobile applications † Sensitivity is the ability of a positive test to correctly identify a subject with disease, while specificity is the ability of a negative test to correctly identify a subject without disease. 3 Ngoo A. Finnane A. McMeniman E. Tan J.M. Janda M. Soyer H.P. Efficacy of smartphone applications in high-risk pigmented lesions. Australas J Dermatol. 2018; 59: e175-e182https://doi.org/10.1111/ajd.12599 Crossref PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar are generally inferior to those of an in-person dermatologist visit (Supplementary Tables I and II, available via Mendeley at https://doi.org/10.17632/5mgxkdrf2h.1). 3 Ngoo A. Finnane A. McMeniman E. Tan J.M. Janda M. Soyer H.P. Efficacy of smartphone applications in high-risk pigmented lesions. Australas J Dermatol. 2018; 59: e175-e182https://doi.org/10.1111/ajd.12599 Crossref PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar This may be the first cross-sectional study to determine minimum levels of sensitivity and specificity that patients and physicians expect from mobile applications for skin cancer screening.