Abstract
Background: Patients with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) are prone to develop skin cancers. Aim and Objectives: To analyze reports of skin cancers in albinos published in the English and the Japanese literature in order to prepare guidelines for the successful management of skin cancer in albinos. Methods and Materials: We searched on PubMed, Web of Knowledge for English literature, and Ichushi-Web for the Japanese literature. Results: Between 1978 and 2013, 11 malignant melanoma, 4 basal cell carcinoma, and 6 squamous cell carcinoma cases were reported in Japan. The subtypes of the 11 malignant melanomas were nodular in 7 cases, superficial spreading in 3 cases, and metastatic lesions in 1 case. Amelanotic melanomas comprised 7 of the 11 malignant melanoma cases in Japanese patients with OCA. Twenty-five malignant melanoma, 50 basal cell carcinoma, and 151 squamous cell carcinoma cases were reported worldwide in the English literature during the period between 1952 and 2013. Conclusion: Regular skin monitoring by board-certified dermatologists is required for adult OCA patients.
Highlights
Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) patients are well known to be susceptible to skin cancer
Most of the reported cases were in African subjects, but Caucasians were included and comprised 6 MM cases and 1 BCC case
No cases of acral lentiginous melanoma were reported, despite this being the most prevalent MM type in Japan. These numbers are depicted in Figure 1; the occurrence of MM in Japanese oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) patients appears to be substantial
Summary
In the English literature, 25 MM [5-12] (Table 1), 50 BCC [13-17] (Table 2), and 151 SCC [1,12-14] (Table 3) cases were reported between 1952 and 2013. We found no reported cases of SCC in Caucasian albinos. In Japan, 11 MM, 4 BCC, and 6 SCC cases were reported (Tables 4, 5) between 1984 and 2013. No cases of acral lentiginous melanoma were reported, despite this being the most prevalent MM type in Japan. These numbers are depicted in Figure 1; the occurrence of MM in Japanese OCA patients appears to be substantial. In the Japanese OCA patients, BCCs and SCCs were not common, whereas the incidence of MM was substantial. Note: The report by Ihn H et al [11] describes a Japanese patient who is likely the same patient in the other report by Ihn H et al [21]
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