A cross sectional study to know the prevalence of skin cancers and their distribution in a tertiary care centre of central India.

Abstract

Background: Skin cancers are not very severe and common but represent a significant
proportion of cancers and have great psychological impact on patients living.
Aim: To know the prevalence of skin cancers and their distribution.
Material and Methods: This is an cross sectional study done over a period of 3 years in a
tertiary care hospital of central India, all histopathologically diagnosed cases of skin cancers
were included, a detailed history of demographic data, exposure and clinical data was
obtained and examination was done findings were recorded and analysed using appropriate
statistical tests.
Results:The incidence of skin cancers in Dermatology patients was 58/100000 and 1.24% of
all cancers patients in our institute. Squamous cell carcinoma was the commonest skin cancer
followed by basal cell carcinoma males were more affected than females in in squamous cell
carcinoma and melanoma but female preponderance was observed in basal cell carcinoma
sun exposure, smoking and occupations causing greater arsenic exposure were the major risk
factors associated with skin cancer. Head and neck was the commonest site for skin cancers.
Conclusion: skin cancers are lower in percentage compared to other cancers but have a
significant number of absolute cases owing to the larger population size of India. Sun
protection and reducing exposure to arsenical compounds in pesticides and Tobacco products
is emphasized.