$10m was spent on these melanoma scanners. Doctors were better at detecting cancer
A huge and much-hyped government investment into 3D skin cancer scanners has hit an unexpected snag after early data showed the scanners performed no better than a simple skin check from a GP – and may lead to overdiagnosis.
The new data has stunned researchers, who are debating whether this represents a blip that will be ironed out as the tech improves or a cautionary tale about the promise and perils of shiny new medical technology.
The Australian Cancer Research Foundation spent about $10 million in 2018 to set up 15 3D full-body cameras across Australia. The Queensland-based research centre established to run the network received another $25 million in federal government research funding, as well as funding from the camera's manufacturer.
The scanners, each of which cost about $500,000, use dozens of cameras to generate a 3D image of a person, tracking the location of each mole and blemish.
When the first machines were installed in Australia 2017 as part of a separate project, a glowing press release said the tech would ' revolutionise melanoma detection '.
That revolution is not yet here.
In a study published earlier this year in JAMA Dermatology, researchers found adding the cameras to usual care led to a lot more lesions being cut out from volunteers' skin – but no more melanoma being detected compared to standard skin checks. And the scanners added $945 per patient in healthcare costs.
'This study is like a cautionary tale,' said one leading melanoma researcher, working on a related project and granted anonymity to speak freely about the trial. 'These are very costly devices. And they might not work if you don't implement it properly. And you're just wasting lots of money and potentially doing harm.'
'It does present a challenge for us going forward,' said Professor David Whiteman, a researcher at QIMR Berghofer and co-author of the study. 'It does temper the enthusiasm a little for just how we go about dealing with skin cancer and its detection in Australia.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
31 minutes ago
- West Australian
Japanese company loses communication with moon lander
Japanese company ispace has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar touchdown attempt, two years after its failed inaugural mission. Tokyo-based ispace has hoped to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole. The company's live-streamed flight data showed Resilience's altitude suddenly falling to zero shortly before the planned touchdown time of 4.17am on Friday, Japanese time, following an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. "We haven't been able to confirm" communication, and control centre members will "continuously attempt to communicate with the lander," the company said in the broadcast. Footage from the control room showed nervous faces of ispace engineers. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. The status of Resilience remains unclear, and ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference about the outcome of the mission at 9am, the company said. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion).
Perth Now
33 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Japanese company loses communication with moon lander
Japanese company ispace has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar touchdown attempt, two years after its failed inaugural mission. Tokyo-based ispace has hoped to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole. The company's live-streamed flight data showed Resilience's altitude suddenly falling to zero shortly before the planned touchdown time of 4.17am on Friday, Japanese time, following an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. "We haven't been able to confirm" communication, and control centre members will "continuously attempt to communicate with the lander," the company said in the broadcast. Footage from the control room showed nervous faces of ispace engineers. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. The status of Resilience remains unclear, and ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference about the outcome of the mission at 9am, the company said. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion).
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
'I was going downhill fast': breast cancer drug gives new lease on life
Mayfield's Madelaine Atkins has a new lease on life from a drug trial that aims to treat advanced breast cancer. She's been part of the FINER clinical trial through the Newcastle-based Breast Cancer Trials for three and a half years. It aims to keep metastatic breast cancer under control for longer. "I feel fantastic. It's created a quality life and freedom for me," said Ms Atkins, 67. "Before I went on the drug trial, I was going downhill fast. My weight was dropping and I was feeling sick and weak." The trial enrolled 250 female and male patients with "advanced ER-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer". The results showed that the addition of the drug ipatasertib to standard treatment "controlled the progress of metastatic breast cancer for almost three times as long". "The main objective of this study was to examine whether treatment with ipatasertib plus fulvestrant was better than fulvestrant alone." Associate Professor Andrew Redfern, chair of the FINER trial, said the results were "significant for these patients with advanced disease". "It could potentially help up to 1500 people in Australia every year who are diagnosed with this type of breast cancer," A/Prof Redfern said. "We now need to confirm these results with longer follow-up of the patients on this trial, as well as further research." Ms Atkins was diagnosed at age 50. "I did chemotherapy, radiation and breast removal," she said. "When I was 60, the little devil came back. It was in my shoulder and started to go up my neck." FINER is a "double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial". "You don't know which one you get [the drug or placebo]. But here I am, touch wood, in fabulous health with no complaints. It has truly been a blessing to me. "I'm a very positive person. My ethos was I'm not finished yet, so let the game begin." As part of the trial, she receives an "injection in my bottom" each month at Lake Macquarie Private. "We're very lucky to have such great nurses and doctors in Newcastle, let alone Australia," she said. "They'll do anything they can to make your journey that little bit better." She said her partner's support and staying social helped her health journey. "I've been fortunate not to need to work, so I've gone into semi-retirement. "We get away every couple of weeks. It adds that life balance. I'm blessed with great family and friends. "I've enjoyed my life. There's nothing I'd want for except a nice life expectancy." She said there was an upside to going through health challenges. "It shatters you to hear those words [a cancer diagnosis], but it's a strange thing how it can be a blessing," she said. "It wasn't like I got hit by the 207 Merewether bus. If you get hit by a bus, you never get to say goodbye." She said early intervention was key. "I rubbed my neck and it felt like a little pimple the size of a pinhead," she said. "Get it while it's timely and we've got a chance. Let it get to the size of a pea and it's a bigger battle. Get to a strawberry and it's a longer journey." Mayfield's Madelaine Atkins has a new lease on life from a drug trial that aims to treat advanced breast cancer. She's been part of the FINER clinical trial through the Newcastle-based Breast Cancer Trials for three and a half years. It aims to keep metastatic breast cancer under control for longer. "I feel fantastic. It's created a quality life and freedom for me," said Ms Atkins, 67. "Before I went on the drug trial, I was going downhill fast. My weight was dropping and I was feeling sick and weak." The trial enrolled 250 female and male patients with "advanced ER-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer". The results showed that the addition of the drug ipatasertib to standard treatment "controlled the progress of metastatic breast cancer for almost three times as long". "The main objective of this study was to examine whether treatment with ipatasertib plus fulvestrant was better than fulvestrant alone." Associate Professor Andrew Redfern, chair of the FINER trial, said the results were "significant for these patients with advanced disease". "It could potentially help up to 1500 people in Australia every year who are diagnosed with this type of breast cancer," A/Prof Redfern said. "We now need to confirm these results with longer follow-up of the patients on this trial, as well as further research." Ms Atkins was diagnosed at age 50. "I did chemotherapy, radiation and breast removal," she said. "When I was 60, the little devil came back. It was in my shoulder and started to go up my neck." FINER is a "double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial". "You don't know which one you get [the drug or placebo]. But here I am, touch wood, in fabulous health with no complaints. It has truly been a blessing to me. "I'm a very positive person. My ethos was I'm not finished yet, so let the game begin." As part of the trial, she receives an "injection in my bottom" each month at Lake Macquarie Private. "We're very lucky to have such great nurses and doctors in Newcastle, let alone Australia," she said. "They'll do anything they can to make your journey that little bit better." She said her partner's support and staying social helped her health journey. "I've been fortunate not to need to work, so I've gone into semi-retirement. "We get away every couple of weeks. It adds that life balance. I'm blessed with great family and friends. "I've enjoyed my life. There's nothing I'd want for except a nice life expectancy." She said there was an upside to going through health challenges. "It shatters you to hear those words [a cancer diagnosis], but it's a strange thing how it can be a blessing," she said. "It wasn't like I got hit by the 207 Merewether bus. If you get hit by a bus, you never get to say goodbye." She said early intervention was key. "I rubbed my neck and it felt like a little pimple the size of a pinhead," she said. "Get it while it's timely and we've got a chance. Let it get to the size of a pea and it's a bigger battle. Get to a strawberry and it's a longer journey." Mayfield's Madelaine Atkins has a new lease on life from a drug trial that aims to treat advanced breast cancer. She's been part of the FINER clinical trial through the Newcastle-based Breast Cancer Trials for three and a half years. It aims to keep metastatic breast cancer under control for longer. "I feel fantastic. It's created a quality life and freedom for me," said Ms Atkins, 67. "Before I went on the drug trial, I was going downhill fast. My weight was dropping and I was feeling sick and weak." The trial enrolled 250 female and male patients with "advanced ER-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer". The results showed that the addition of the drug ipatasertib to standard treatment "controlled the progress of metastatic breast cancer for almost three times as long". "The main objective of this study was to examine whether treatment with ipatasertib plus fulvestrant was better than fulvestrant alone." Associate Professor Andrew Redfern, chair of the FINER trial, said the results were "significant for these patients with advanced disease". "It could potentially help up to 1500 people in Australia every year who are diagnosed with this type of breast cancer," A/Prof Redfern said. "We now need to confirm these results with longer follow-up of the patients on this trial, as well as further research." Ms Atkins was diagnosed at age 50. "I did chemotherapy, radiation and breast removal," she said. "When I was 60, the little devil came back. It was in my shoulder and started to go up my neck." FINER is a "double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial". "You don't know which one you get [the drug or placebo]. But here I am, touch wood, in fabulous health with no complaints. It has truly been a blessing to me. "I'm a very positive person. My ethos was I'm not finished yet, so let the game begin." As part of the trial, she receives an "injection in my bottom" each month at Lake Macquarie Private. "We're very lucky to have such great nurses and doctors in Newcastle, let alone Australia," she said. "They'll do anything they can to make your journey that little bit better." She said her partner's support and staying social helped her health journey. "I've been fortunate not to need to work, so I've gone into semi-retirement. "We get away every couple of weeks. It adds that life balance. I'm blessed with great family and friends. "I've enjoyed my life. There's nothing I'd want for except a nice life expectancy." She said there was an upside to going through health challenges. "It shatters you to hear those words [a cancer diagnosis], but it's a strange thing how it can be a blessing," she said. "It wasn't like I got hit by the 207 Merewether bus. If you get hit by a bus, you never get to say goodbye." She said early intervention was key. "I rubbed my neck and it felt like a little pimple the size of a pinhead," she said. "Get it while it's timely and we've got a chance. Let it get to the size of a pea and it's a bigger battle. Get to a strawberry and it's a longer journey." Mayfield's Madelaine Atkins has a new lease on life from a drug trial that aims to treat advanced breast cancer. She's been part of the FINER clinical trial through the Newcastle-based Breast Cancer Trials for three and a half years. It aims to keep metastatic breast cancer under control for longer. "I feel fantastic. It's created a quality life and freedom for me," said Ms Atkins, 67. "Before I went on the drug trial, I was going downhill fast. My weight was dropping and I was feeling sick and weak." The trial enrolled 250 female and male patients with "advanced ER-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer". The results showed that the addition of the drug ipatasertib to standard treatment "controlled the progress of metastatic breast cancer for almost three times as long". "The main objective of this study was to examine whether treatment with ipatasertib plus fulvestrant was better than fulvestrant alone." Associate Professor Andrew Redfern, chair of the FINER trial, said the results were "significant for these patients with advanced disease". "It could potentially help up to 1500 people in Australia every year who are diagnosed with this type of breast cancer," A/Prof Redfern said. "We now need to confirm these results with longer follow-up of the patients on this trial, as well as further research." Ms Atkins was diagnosed at age 50. "I did chemotherapy, radiation and breast removal," she said. "When I was 60, the little devil came back. It was in my shoulder and started to go up my neck." FINER is a "double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial". "You don't know which one you get [the drug or placebo]. But here I am, touch wood, in fabulous health with no complaints. It has truly been a blessing to me. "I'm a very positive person. My ethos was I'm not finished yet, so let the game begin." As part of the trial, she receives an "injection in my bottom" each month at Lake Macquarie Private. "We're very lucky to have such great nurses and doctors in Newcastle, let alone Australia," she said. "They'll do anything they can to make your journey that little bit better." She said her partner's support and staying social helped her health journey. "I've been fortunate not to need to work, so I've gone into semi-retirement. "We get away every couple of weeks. It adds that life balance. I'm blessed with great family and friends. "I've enjoyed my life. There's nothing I'd want for except a nice life expectancy." She said there was an upside to going through health challenges. "It shatters you to hear those words [a cancer diagnosis], but it's a strange thing how it can be a blessing," she said. "It wasn't like I got hit by the 207 Merewether bus. If you get hit by a bus, you never get to say goodbye." She said early intervention was key. "I rubbed my neck and it felt like a little pimple the size of a pinhead," she said. "Get it while it's timely and we've got a chance. Let it get to the size of a pea and it's a bigger battle. Get to a strawberry and it's a longer journey."
