Background : The incidence of primary epithelial skin cancers is rising steadily, but little is khown of the clinical features of primary epithelial skin cancers, and limited data are available in Korea
Objective : our purpose was to analyze the clinical characteristics of primary epithelial skin cancers.
Methods : A retrospective analysis was conducted of 106 cases of primary epithelial skin cancers observed between 1989 and 1995.
Results : 1. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 41 cases, was the most common skin cancer. The numbers of cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and Bowen's disease(BD) were 33 and 24, respectively. There were 3 cases of mixed type (BCC+SCC), 2 cases of
Pager's and 3 cases of extramammary Paget's disease.
2. The average age at diagnosis and the mean duration of disease were as follows : BCC(65.5 years old-4.34 years), SCC(70.2 years old-1.63 years), BD(59.3 years old-2.85 years)
3. The face was the most common anatomic site for BCC(93%) and SCC(70%), but the trunk was the most common site for BD.
4. The most common clinical type of BCC was the noduloulcerative type(65%) and the solid type was the most common site for BD.
5. In histologic grading of SCC, grade I and II lesions occupied in 88% of total cases. The numbers of special variants of SCC were as follows : aenoid(40, spindle cell (1), verrucous(2)
Conclusions : 1. The average age of patient with primary epithelial skin cancers was older than in earlier reports in Korea and was closer to the recent reports in western countries.
2. The nuber of cases of BD was much higher than that reported previously. This emphasized the importance of tissue examination for the pigmented lesions of the skin, especially on the trunk and extremities. (Kor J Dermatol 1995;33(6) :
1085~1090)
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