Melanoma is Australia’s fourth most common cancer.,Early detection is fundamental in maximising health outcomes and minimising treatment costs.,To date, population-based screening programmes have not been justified in health economic studies.,However, a skin surveillance approach targeting high-risk individuals could improve the cost-benefit ratio.,This paper describes a 2-year longitudinal randomised controlled trial (RCT) to compare routine clinical care (control) with an intensive skin surveillance programme (intervention) consisting of novel three-dimensional (3D) total-body photography (TBP), sequential digital dermoscopy and melanoma-risk stratification, in a high-risk melanoma cohort.,Primary outcomes will evaluate clinical, economic and consumer impact of the intervention.,Clinical outcomes will evaluate differences in the rate of lesion excisions/biopsies per person, benign to malignant ratio for excisions and thickness of melanomas diagnosed.,A health economic analysis using government data repositories will capture healthcare utilisation and costs relating to skin surveillance.,Consumer questionnaires will examine intervention acceptability, the psychological impact, and attitudes towards melanoma risk and sun protective behaviour.,Secondary outcomes include the development of a holistic risk algorithm incorporating clinical, phenotypic and genetic factors to facilitate the identification of those most likely to benefit from this surveillance approach.,Furthermore, the feasibility of integrating the intervention with teledermatology to enhance specialist care in remote locations will be evaluated.,This will be the first RCT to compare a targeted surveillance programme utilising new 3D TBP technology against current routine clinical care for individuals at high risk of melanoma.,This study has received Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval from both Metro South Health HREC (HREC/17/QPAH/816) and The University of Queensland HREC (2018000074).,ANZCTR12618000267257; Pre-results.
Having many melanocytic naevi or ‘moles’ on the skin is the strongest predictor of melanoma; thus, much can be learnt from investigating naevi in the general population.,We aim to improve the understanding of the epidemiology and biology of naevi by conducting a 3-year prospective study of melanocytic naevi in adults.,This is a population-based cohort study of melanocytic naevi in 200 adults aged 20-69 years recruited via the Australian electoral roll.,At baseline, participants will complete a questionnaire on their sun behaviour and health and undergo a clinical examination.,Three-dimensional (3D) total-body photography will be used to record the images of skin lesions.,Pigmented naevi will be analysed in terms of number, diameter, colour and border irregularity using automated analysis software (excluding scalp, beneath underwear and soles of feet).,All naevi ≥5 mm will be recorded using the integrated dermoscopy photographic system.,A saliva sample will be obtained at baseline for genomic DNA analysis of pigmentation, naevus and melanoma-associated genes using the Illumina HumanCoreExome platform.,The sun behaviour and health follow-up questionnaire, clinical examination and 3D total-body photography will be repeated every 6 months for 3 years.,The first 50 participants will also undergo manual counts of naevi ≥2 mm and ≥5 mm at baseline, 6-month and 12-month follow-ups.,Microbiopsy and excision of naevi of research interest is planned to commence at the 18-month time point among those who agree to donate samples for detailed histopathological and molecular assessment.,This study was approved by the Metro South Health Human Research Ethics Committee in April 2016 (approval number: HREC/16/QPAH/125).,The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences.