What percentage of suspect looking moles actually end up being malignant?!
Question: What percentage of suspect looking moles actually end up being malignant?
Just because a mole violates the ABCDE rule, it does not mean that is malignant does it?
Answers:
Suspicious is a very subjective thing. Sometimes biopsies are done because the patient worries even if the doc doesn't and sometimes because the doc is worried. I don't think a study has been done for the question you ask. The ABCDE rule is designed to identify things that have higher risk of being melanoma. There are certainly things that have one or more of the ABCDE and are benign. Just as there are things that have none of the ABCDE and are malignant. They are guidelines, not absolutes. The gut feeling of a well trained dermatology provider is very important.