[Skip to Navigation]
Comment & Response
January 30, 2019

Further Consideration of the Pigmented Lesion Assay

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Dermatology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
  • 2Center for Dermatoepidemiology, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island
  • 3George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC
JAMA Dermatol. 2019;155(3):393. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.5478

To the Editor We read with interest the article by Hornberger and Siegel,1 which suggested that the pigmented lesion assay (PLA)2 may reduce costs and improve the care of patients with skin lesions suspicious for melanoma. The noninvasive sampling of RNA is a promising approach for the diagnosis of melanoma, especially considering the intrinsic limitations of visual inspection and the cost and morbidity of histologic evaluation. It is important that we continue to develop and test instruments, such as the PLA, that have potential to decrease unnecessary biopsies of benign pigmented skin lesions.

Add or change institution
×