ABCD guideline

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The ABCD guideline refers to a system of criteria for suspecting that a mole (skin marking) is potentially a cancerous melanoma. The initials stand for:

Asymmetry - the mole is not round
Border - the mole's border is not well-defined
Color - the mole is dark or varied in color
Diameter - the mole is greater than 6mm in size (around the size of a pencil eraser)

If any of the above conditions are present, a biopsy is recommended.