Pattern of Skin Cancers in a Tertiary Medical Center in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Skin cancers are the most common malignancies in the western world, and their incidence is increasing globally. However, the data about the pattern in sub-Saharan Africa are limited. This study evaluates the pattern of primary skin malignancies in a tertiary medical center located in a sub-urban area.
 Methods: The histo-pathological records of patients managed for malignancies from January 2012 to December 2020 were retrieved from the pathology department of a tertiary medical center in Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria. All primary skin cancers seen within this study period were extracted from the records and then reviewed retrospectively.
 Results: The male-to-female ratio of primary skin malignancies was 1:1.06, and the mean age of patients was 57.2 ± 17years. All patients were black Africans who were mainly of the Yoruba ethnicity (97.2%). Squamous cell cancer had the highest frequency (34.7%), followed by melanoma (27.8%), dermatofibrosarcoma (12.5%), and basal cell carcinoma (11.1%). The most commonly affected anatomic region is the lower limbs (50.6%).
 Conclusion: The pattern of primary skin cancers seen in black Africans differ from that of Caucasians: however, larger community-based studies in our environment is recommended to provide more conclusive information about the pattern of skin cancers.

Histopathologic patterns of skin cancer and associated factors in Jimma University Medical Center, Jimma, South West Ethiopia: Retrospective study

“…This is consistent with a study done in Ethiopia Tikur Anbesa Hospital in which 55.2% of cases were SCC and Tigray region (40%) (17,21). Similar nding also observed studies done in Sudan 228 (42.6%), South west Nigeria 25 (34.7%) and South Africa 1938 (45.4%) (13,20,22) In contrast to this study, Studies done in Nepal, Poland and Yemen shows SCC were the second common skin cancer after BCC (1,5,12). There was slight female predominance of SCC in the present study which is similar to a study done in South west Nigeria and Poland (2,13).…”

“…There was slight female predominance of SCC in the present study which is similar to a study done in South west Nigeria and Poland (2,13). The mean age of SCC was 53 in our study which is consistent with a study done in India and south west Nigeria where the mean age was 53.7 and 53.6 respectively (13,23). In our study lower extremity is the commonest site for SCC which accounts for 60 (61.2%), which is an agreement with a previous study done in Ethiopia where lower extremity 67 (58.8%) was the commonest site for SCC (17).…”

“…Similar nding also observed studies done in Sudan 228 (42.6%), South west Nigeria 25 (34.7%) and South Africa 1938 (45.4%) (13,20,22) In contrast to this study, Studies done in Nepal, Poland and Yemen shows SCC were the second common skin cancer after BCC (1,5,12). There was slight female predominance of SCC in the present study which is similar to a study done in South west Nigeria and Poland (2,13). The mean age of SCC was 53 in our study which is consistent with a study done in India and south west Nigeria where the mean age was 53.7 and 53.6 respectively (13,23).…”

“…This is consistent with a study conducted in Tikur Anbesa Hospital, Ethiopia where lower extremity was the commonest site followed by head and neck which constitute 114 (50%) and 69 (30.3%), respectively (17). Similar ndings were also seen in studies conducted in Nigeria and Tanzania (13,18). However, most studies conducted in and Asian countries shows sun exposed areas (head and neck) was the commonest site for skin cancer which indicates difference in predisposing factor for skin cancer in different areas (1, 2, 6, 8).…”

“…Among the affected age groups in our study, the highest incidence was seen in individuals in their 60s, consistent with previous studies conducted in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (8, 12). The male to female ratio was found to be 1:1.1, which aligns with ndings from other regions such as South West Nigeria (1:1.06), Nepal (1:1.3), and Iraq (1:1.2 (13)(14)(15). Furthermore, it was noted that the majority of skin cancer patients (85%) came from rural areas, which is also supported by a study done in Tanzania where 93.8% of skin cancer patients were from rural areas(16).…”