Skin cancer in Egypt: A word in your ear

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In Egypt, the clinicopathologic features of skin cancer are still unknown. Materials and Methods: To define these features, registries of the Pathology Departments, Assiut and South Valley University Hospitals were reviewed. The lesions included 21 melanomas, 39 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and 202 basal cell carcinomas (BCCs). Results: Skin cancer represented 5% of the malignant tumors of the entire body. BCC (77%) was the most common skin cancer followed by SCC (15%) and melanomas (8%). The mean age was 54 ± 3 (melanomas), 66 ± 10 (BCC), and 60 ± 5.18 (SCC). The most common sites were the face (BCCs), face and extremities (SCCs), and face and lower limbs (melanomas). The average size (mm) was 21 ± 0.3 (melanomas), 28 ± 0.3 (BCC) and 30 ± 1.1 (SCC). Melanomas, BCCs and SCCs were of nodular, keratotic invasive and nodular infiltrative types, respectively. Conclusions: In Egypt, skin cancer is uncommon malignancy. As compared to Western societies, the incidence rate of melanoma is very low and its topographic distribution is different. Alternatively, the rates for SCCs/BCCs are comparably high and their topographic distribution is similar. This is the first investigation that reports the clinicopathologic features of skin cancer in Egypt and compares it to other parts of Africa and Western societies. ©2005 Landes Bioscience.