A clinical investigation of cutaneous malignant tumors in western gyeongnam province over 11 years

Abstract

Background: The incidence rates of cutaneous malignant tumors in the Korean population are increasing. However, few clinical studies have been conducted on cutaneous malignant tumors in Gyeongnam Province. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cutaneous malignant tumors in Western Gyeongnam Province and to compare the results with previous reports of cutaneous malignant tumors. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 46,277 outpatients who visited the Department of Dermatology from January 2005 to December 2015. Among them, 1,120 patients who underwent biopsy for skin tumors had tumors classified as cutaneous malignant tumors. We compared the histopathological diagnoses and analyzed the distribution of dermatologie diseases and clinical features, including age and sex. Results: The mean age of the patients was 70.0 years. The ratio of male to female patients was 1 : 1.85. Cutaneous malignant and premalignant tumors were found in 2.4% of all new patients. The most common disease was basal cell carcinoma (39.6%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (31.5%), malignant lymphoma (6.3%), metastatic carcinoma (5.8%), keratoacanthoma (4.2%), malignant melanoma (4.1%), and extramammary Paget's disease (2.8%). The most common premalignant tumor was actinic keratosis (73.2%), followed by Bowen's disease (26.8%). The most common site of cutaneous malignant tumors and premalignant tumors was the face (75.3% and 80.8%, respectively). Conclusion: This study provides useful data on the incidence and characteristics of cutaneous malignant tumors. The frequency of malignant tumors was higher than that found in previous studies.