A changing lesion and an inadequate sample

A fictional adult has a pigmented lesion that has changed in outline and color over several months. The lesion is not yet diagnosed, and its anatomical site makes the choice of sampling method important. A trainee proposes a very superficial sample that may leave an invasive component unassessed. Another trainee responds that every form of shave sampling is absolutely forbidden for every suspicious lesion. The supervising dermatologist asks for a diagnostic plan that supplies the tissue needed for identification and microstaging while taking lesion size, site and feasibility into account. No definitive tumor thickness, stage, therapeutic margin or node-management decision has been supplied. The task concerns adequate assessment rather than an unsupervised procedural technique.