UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective:A rising incidence for certain skin cancers like Basal cell carcinoma and Malignant Melanoma has been documented among Caucasians. There has also been an observed increase in the diagnosis of Basal Cell Carcinoma in blacks. This study sets out to evaluate the Pattern of Skin Cancers in a leading teaching hospital in Southwestern Nigeria and determine the trends in comparison to what obtains thirty decades earlier.

Methods: A retrospective review of skin malignancies at the National Cancer Registry, Ibadan, Nigeria, was carried out. 494 histologically confirmed cases of skin malignancies recorded at the cancer registry between January 1981 and December 2000 were evaluated. The proportion observed was compared with a similar study carried out thirty years earlier.

Results:The commonest lesion recorded was squamous cell carcinoma 40.5%. Malignant Melanoma was 25.1%, Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberance 9.5%, Kaposi's Sarcoma 8.3% and Basal Cell Carcinoma 6.7%. Rarer types include Adenocarcinoma, undifferentiated Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, Fibrosarcoma and Mycosis Fungoides. Skin Cancers were commonest in the 5th decade and the male : female ratio was 1.5:1. There is however a decline in the proportion of Squamous Cell Carcinoma and an increase in the proportion of Basal Cell Carcinoma. The proportion of Kaposi's sarcoma has also increased but the hospital prevalence for basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma did not show the progressive increase in incidence noted among Caucasians.