Details Revealed for Training Course to Compliment New Pathway

9 January 2023

 

In November, LOCSU launched the new Naevus Referral Filtering and Monitoring pathway, which aims to improve the efficiency and accuracy of case-finding of choroidal melanoma, and so improve the speed at which people are diagnosed and treated within the hospital eye service.

Since the launch of the pathway, consultant ophthalmologist Professor Bertil Damato has been working closely with Professor Barbara Ryan from WOPEC, supported by Zoe Richmond clinical director for LOCSU, to co-develop a training course to compliment the new pathway.

The pathway is underpinned by the MOLES scoring system, developed by Professor Damato, to help practitioners differentiate choroidal melanomas from naevi, estimate the risk of malignancy and to manage patients accordingly.

Zoe Richmond, Clinical Director, LOCSU said:

“For over 10 years LOCSU and WOPEC have worked closely together developing training modules to support LOCs, we now have an impressive suite of resources available. Anyone wishing to undertake any of these courses need to contact their LOC to request the access codes. I believe this course will be of interest to all LOC members, not restricted to areas with new service opportunities”

Professor Bertil Damato, Senior Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford said:

“Early treatment of intraocular melanomas maximises any chances of saving life, vision, and the eye but when these cancers are still small it is difficult to distinguish them from benign moles (naevi) at the back of the eye. As intraocular moles are so much more common than melanomas, large numbers of patients are being referred to hospital eye services unnecessarily, lengthening waiting lists and diverting hospital resources from patients with serious disease needing urgent care.

“At the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, University of Oxford, I therefore devised the MOLES acronym and scoring system to help ophthalmologists and optometrists estimate the likelihood of malignancy in pigmented lesions at the back of the eye and to manage patients appropriately. This has been validated at Moorfields Eye Hospital but its success in the real-world patient care depends on the ability of optometrists and ophthalmologists to recognise the clinical signs of malignancy.

“The Xerte module focusing on MOLES is an invaluable educational resource that will greatly enhance clinical expertise and hence the care of individuals with pigmented lesions at the back of the eye.”

Professor Barbara Ryan, Director Postgraduate Taught Programmes and WOPEC Co-Director said:

“It is often a challenge to know what to do when we find a pigmented fundus lesion, especially if it is the first presentation. The MOLES system is easy to understand and gives an evidence-based systematic approach to making decisions in these cases. It has been an honour to work with someone as knowledgeable as Professor Damato to develop this training resource for optometrists. “

Details of the Naevus Referral Filtering and Monitoring pathway are here.

Contact your local LOC to request an access code for the new training module.