AIHW estimates 17,400 melanoma cases in 2025
A new or changing lesion with any of the ABCDE warning signs warrants prompt assessment by a dermatologist or GP with skin cancer training, not a cosmetic clinic.
Dr Tass Cosmetic & Skin Clinics says one of the most consistent clinical questions Dr Tass Tasiopoulos receives heading into summer is how a patient knows whether a change in their skin warrants urgent medical attention, or a cosmetic consultation, or simply monitoring.
That question matters because Australia carries one of the world’s highest melanoma burdens. The AIHW estimates 17,400 new melanoma cases in Australia in 2025, and melanoma is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the country.
Across Australia and New Zealand, melanoma incidence reaches 63 cases per 100,000 persons, the highest rate in the world. Meanwhile, the Cancer Council says approximately two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before the age of 70.
Early assessment can sharply change outcomes. Five-year survival for melanoma reaches approximately 94% when detected at an early stage, but drops sharply with late-stage diagnosis.
According to Dr Tass Tasiopoulos, any new or changing lesion with the ABCDE warning signs requires prompt assessment by a GP or dermatologist, not a cosmetic clinic. Those signs are asymmetry, irregular border, uneven colour, diameter above six millimetres, and evolution over time.
Lesions that bleed, itch, or fail to heal also require medical diagnosis and potential biopsy. That work falls outside the scope of cosmetic practice.
Patients can also mistake common age-related changes for something more serious. Seborrhoeic keratoses, solar lentigines and dermatofibromas may be suitable for cosmetic treatment, but medical assessment must come first to rule out more serious conditions.
Seborrhoeic keratoses are rough, scaly raised patches that appear with age. Solar lentigines are flat brown age spots caused by cumulative sun exposure.
In Dr Tass Tasiopoulos’s view, the key clinical divide is between changes that need urgent dermatology referral and changes linked to normal skin ageing or cosmetic concern. Distinguishing between benign and non-benign presentations requires medical assessment, not a cosmetic consultation.
“Patients arrive at this time of year having noticed something on their skin and having spent three weeks deciding whether to do anything about it,” said Dr Tass Tasiopoulos, MBBS, BSc Hons, FCPCA, founder of Dr Tass Cosmetic & Skin Clinics.
He said his consistent advice is to see a GP or dermatologist first if a mark is new, has changed, or does not look like the other marks on the body.
A cosmetic clinic can address the ageing concern once the skin health question has been answered, Dr Tass Tasiopoulos said. He added: “Do not let the cosmetic question delay the clinical one,”
Dr Tass Cosmetic & Skin Clinics is a Melbourne-based cosmetic medicine practice founded by Dr Tass Tasiopoulos. He is a registered medical practitioner with more than 17 years of clinical experience since 2009 and has performed over 60,000 procedures.
The practice operates across three Melbourne locations: Crown Spa Melbourne, Port Melbourne and Ripponlea. It also holds AGPAL accreditation.
