Breslow thickness is a major prognostic factor for melanoma. It is based on histopathological evaluation, and thus it is not available to aid clinical decision making at the time of the initial melanoma diagnosis. In this work, we assessed the efficacy of multispectral imaging (MSI) to predict Breslow thickness and developed a classification algorithm to determine optimal safety margins of the melanoma excision. First, we excluded nevi from the analysis with a novel quantitative parameter. Parameter s' could differentiate nevi from melanomas with a sensitivity of 89.60% and specificity of 88.11%. Following this step, we have categorized melanomas into three different subgroups based on Breslow thickness (≤1 mm, 1-2 mm and >2 mm) with a sensitivity of 78.00% and specificity of 89.00% and a substantial agreement (κ = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.58-0.76). We compared our results to the performance of dermatologists and dermatology residents who assessed dermoscopic and clinical images of these melanomas, and reached a sensitivity of 60.38% and specificity of 80.86% with a moderate agreement (κ = 0.41; 95% CI, 0.39-0.43). Based on our findings, this novel method may help predict the appropriate safety margins for curative melanoma excision.
Keywords: Breslow thickness; LED; dermoscopy; diagnosis; histology; melanin; melanoma; multispectral imaging; quantitative analysis; surgery.