Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is potentially the most dangerous form of skin tumor and causes 90% of skin cancer mortality. A unique collaboration of multi-disciplinary experts from the European Dermatology Forum (EDF), the European Association of Dermato-Oncology (EADO) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) was formed to make recommendations on CM diagnosis and treatment, based on systematic literature reviews and the experts' experience. The diagnosis of melanoma can be made clinically and shall always be confirmed with dermatoscopy. If a melanoma is suspected, a histopathological examination is always required. Sequential digital dermatoscopy and full body photography can be used in high-risk patients to improve the detection of early melanoma. Where available, confocal reflectance microscopy can also improve clinical diagnosis in special cases. Melanoma shall be classified according to the 8th version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer classification. Thin melanomas up to 0.8 mm tumor thickness do not require further imaging diagnostics. From stage IB onwards, examinations with lymph node sonography are recommended, but no further imaging examinations. From stage IIC onwards whole-body examinations with computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography CT (PET-CT) in combination with brain magnetic resonance imaging are recommended. From stage III and higher, mutation testing is recommended, particularly for BRAF V600 mutation. It is important to provide a structured follow-up to detect relapses and secondary primary melanomas as early as possible. There is no evidence to define the frequency and extent of examinations. A stage-based follow-up scheme is proposed which, according to the experience of the guideline group, covers the optimal requirements, but further studies may be considered. This guideline is valid until the end of 2024.

1st Department of Dermatology Aristotle University Thessaloniki Greece

1st Department of Dermatology University of Athens School of Medicine Andreas Sygros Hospital Athens Greece

Center for Dermatooncology Department of Dermatology Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen Germany

Department of Dermatology and Venereology Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra Coimbra Portugal

Department of Dermatology Erasme Hospital Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium

Department of Dermatology Maastricht University Medical Center Maastricht the Netherlands

Department of Dermatology Medical University of Vienna Austria

Department of Dermatology University Hospital Schleswig Holstein Campus Kiel Kiel Germany

Department of Dermatology Venereology and Allergology Frankfurt University Hospital Frankfurt Germany

Department of Dermatovenereology 3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Oncology Odense University Hospital Denmark

Dermatology Clinic Maggiore Hospital University of Trieste Trieste Italy

Dermatology Department CHU Nantes CIC 1413 CRCINA University Nantes Nantes France

Dermatology Department Elias University Hospital Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest Romania

Dermatology Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences University of L'Aquila L'Aquila Italy

Dermatology Unit University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Modena Italy

Institute of Dermatology Università Cattolica Rome Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A Gemelli IRCCS Rome Italy

Medical and Surgical Dermatology Service Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena Sevilla Spain

Melanoma Institute Australia The University of Sydney Royal North Shore and Mater Hospitals Sydney New South Wales Australia

Melanoma Unit Department of Dermatology Hospital Clinic IDIBAPS Barcelona Spain

Mount Vernon Cancer Centre Northwood United Kingdom

Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education Kiev Ukraine

The University of Manchester Oxford Rd Manchester M13 9PL UK

Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit School of Basic and Medical Biosciences King's College London London SE1 7EH UK

Université Paris Cite AP HP Department of Dermatology INSERM U 976 Hôpital Saint Louis Paris France

University Department of Dermatology Marseille France

University Department of Dermatology Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines APHP Boulogne France

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