Yes, and dermatologists call it the “ugly duckling” test.
Until recently, dermatologists recommended that people use the so-called “ABCDE” guidelines for checking moles for melanoma, the deadliest form, which kills more than 8,000 Americans a year.
In the “ABCDE” system, A stands for asymmetry, B stands for border irregularity, C for variegated color, D for large diameter and E for evolving, or changing, said Dr. Hensin Tsao, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Melanoma and Pigmented Lesion Center, in an e-mail. Moles with these characteristics may be an early melanoma in disguise.
The trouble is, “ABCDE is a mouthful, and people can’t remember what it stands for,” said Dr. Mathew Avram, director of the Dermatology Laser and Cosmetic Center, also at Mass. General. Moreover, the ABCDE system doesn’t catch all suspicious moles.
Enter the “ugly duckling” test. Using diagrams available on the website of the Skin Cancer Foundation (skincancer.org/early-detection), you can check yourself for weird moles – dubbed “ugly ducklings” because they don’t look like other moles.
Sometimes, amid a scattered group of moles, one “ugly duckling” stands out as being darker and larger than its neighbors. Sometimes, in a group of moles, one mole, often a small one, stands out because it lacks pigmentation. Sometimes, one mole is all by itself in a large area of skin such as the back; it’s a potential problem if this mole is changing, asymmetrical or otherwise atypical.
The goal of this new system is to catch more suspicious moles early, said Dr. Allan Halpern , chief of dermatology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. “If melanomas are caught early enough,” he said, “they are almost 100 percent curable.”
It only takes a few minutes to do the “ugly duckling” and ABCDE tests, so check your moles monthly. If any look suspicious, see your doctor. These simple tests aren’t guaranteed to catch every cancer, but they could save your life.