In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of computer-assisted technology for early detection of skin cancer through the analysis of dermatoscopic images. However, the accuracy illustrated behind the state-of-the-art approaches depends on several factors, such as the quality of the images and the interpretation of the results by medical experts. This systematic review aims to critically assess the efficacy and challenges of this research field in order to explain the usability and limitations and highlight potential future lines of work for the scientific and clinical community. In this study, the analysis was carried out over 45 contemporary studies extracted from databases such as Web of Science and Scopus. Several computer vision techniques related to image and video processing for early skin cancer diagnosis were identified. In this context, the focus behind the process included the algorithms employed, result accuracy, and validation metrics. Thus, the results yielded significant advancements in cancer detection using deep learning and machine learning algorithms. Lastly, this review establishes a foundation for future research, highlighting potential contributions and opportunities to improve the effectiveness of skin cancer detection through machine learning.