The Melanocytic Pathology Assessment Tool and Hierarchy for Diagnosis (MPATH-Dx) has been revised to simplify diagnoses into four classes, according to a consensus statement published online Jan. 11 in JAMA Network Open .

Raymond L. Barnhill, M.D., from the Institut Curie in Paris, and colleagues revised the MPATH-Dx version 1.0 classification tool using feedback from dermatopathologists and members of the International Melanoma Pathology Study Group. All feedback was integrated into an updated and refined MPATH-Dx version 2.0.

The researchers note that in order to improve diagnostic concordance and provide more explicit guidance for treatment, the new MPATH-Dx version 2.0 schema simplifies the original five-class hierarchy into four classes. Histopathological criteria for classification of classes I and II lesions are clearly defined in the new version; specific provisions are made for the most frequently encountered low-cumulative sun damage pathway of melanoma progression and other less common pathways to melanoma; guidance is provided for classifying intermediate class II tumors versus melanoma; and a subset of pT1a melanomas with very low risk is recognized.

"We expect that the implementation of the new revised MPATH-Dx V2.0 schema into routine practice will provide a robust tool and adjunct for standardized diagnostic reporting of melanocytic lesions and management of patients to the benefit of both health care practitioners and patients," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

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