Prevalence of pathological diagnoses and epidemiological profile of patients with non-melanoma skin cancer suspicious lesions

Abstract

Introduction: Cutaneous cancer has a high incidence, can be screened with dermatological clinical examination and confirmed by cutaneous biopsy. Objective: To verify the prevalence of pathological diagnoses for suspected non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) lesions in a Reference Service. Methods: Observational and cross-sectional study. Patients with indication of skin biopsy for suspected NMSC were included. Variables analyzed: age, gender, personal history of skin cancer, number of biopsies, biopsy site, and pathological outcome, divided into Group 1 (neoplastic lesions); Group 2 (premalignant lesions), and Group 3 (benign lesions). Results: A total of 287 patients, with an average of 1.33 biopsies per patient. The median age in the sample was 71 years, and 56.1% were women. Personal history of skin cancer: 44.95%. General sample: group 1: 62%; group 2: 21% and group 3: 17%. Neoplasms found: 68% were BCC, 30% were SCC, and other neoplasms: 2%. In the group of premalignant lesions: mainly actinic keratosis; in the group of benign lesions: diagnostic variety. The cephalic segment was the most frequently biopsied topography (58%). Conclusions: In this study, we showed a higher incidence of skin cancer in women, with the majority of elderly patients being the most frequent diagnosis of BCC.