The goal of this Phase II project is to investigate the efficacy of a computer based method for the early detection of new and changed skin lesions as conducted by the at-risk patient in his or her own home. This investigation is based on an innovative combination of demonstrated benefits of personal skin screening and a new technique which has been shown to be clinically very effective at finding new or changed skin lesions at a very early stage of development. The proposed methodology offers the potential of mitigating two of the critical problems of early detection of such skin lesions, i.e. patient compliance and routine conduct of whole body screening. A successful phase I effort will provide a foundation for dissemination of a new screening software product which would be very effective at enabling patients to use their own existing personal computer in the privacy of their own home to accomplish demonstrably far superior screening to anything they have done in the past. This is a potentially important and far-reaching public health project which could significantly mitigate a tragic cancer which is presently the fastest growing cancer in the United States.
