Three cases of scalp melanomas discovered by hairdressers.

Studies have demonstrated that patients are able to identify melanoma in many cases. A limitation to using self-examination as a means of melanoma detection is the fact that in certain areas of the body, such as the scalp, self-examination is difficult to adequately perform. This may be one of the reasons why scalp melanomas carry a worse prognosis than melanomas detected in other areas of the body. The authors present three cases of scalp melanomas that were detected by the patient's hairdressers and suggest that with minimal training, hairdressers could become a valuable resource in assisting dermatologists in the early diagnosis of scalp melanoma.