Trends of skin cancer incidence in Turkey: A hospital-based study

OpenAlex İngilizce

Abstract Background: The incidence of skin cancers is increasing every year. The purpose of the study was to determine the change in the incidence of skin cancers and their subtypes over the years. Materials and Methods: A total of 1507 patients who applied to the Dermatology Clinic between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2020, and were diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC), Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), and melanoma were included in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, comorbidities, tumor type, tumor number, lesion size, lymph node or organ metastasis, number of recurrences, and number of previous surgeries were recorded. Results: A total of 1056 (52.4%) patients had BCC, 733 (36.4%) SCC, and 225 (11.2%) had melanoma. The mean age was 69.8 (±14.61) in females and 67.65 (±13.33) in males (P < 0.001) at the time of diagnosis. The highest rate of recurrence was detected in 39 patients (7.1%) and the earliest recurrence time (15.77 months (±14.24) was detected in SCC (P < 0.01, P = 0.01, respectively). The mean age of skin cancer was found to be significantly lower in those who had undergone organ transplantation and those who had autoimmune diseases (P = 0.004, P = 0.008, respectively). Also, organ metastases were more common (P = 0.005), and the mean tumor size was lower in patients with autoimmune diseases (P = 0.008). Conclusion: It was found that the frequency of SCC has increased and approached BCC over the years, and the frequency of malignant melanoma has been similar. Results support that more emphasis should be placed on skin cancer screening and prevention in high-risk groups.