U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Release Date: October 2003
Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Summary of Recommendation
- The U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or
against routine counseling by primary care clinicians to prevent skin cancer.
Rating: "I" statement
Rationale: The USPSTF found insufficient evidence to determine whether clinician
counseling is effective in changing patient behaviors to reduce skin cancer
risk. Counseling parents may increase the use of sunscreen for children,
but there is little evidence to determine the effects of counseling
on other preventive behaviors (such as wearing protective clothing,
reducing excessive sun exposure, avoiding sun lamps/tanning beds, or practicing
skin self-examination) and little evidence on potential harms.
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Supporting Documents
Counseling for Skin Cancer, October 2003
Recommendations and Rationale (PDF File, 139 KB; PDF Help)
Summary of Evidence (PDF File, 200 KB; PDF Help)
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Current as of October 2003
Internet Citation:
Counseling for Skin Cancer, Topic Page. October 2003. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsskco.htm