The incidence and clinical analysis of non-melanoma skin cancer

Magdalena Ciążyńska,Martyna Sławińska,Anna Zaryczańska,Bogumił Lewandowski,Michał Sobjanek,Monika Słowińska,Małgorzata Skibińska,Małgorzata Ułańska,Anna Woźniacka,Karol Ciążyński,Maria Błasińska-Morawiec,Adam Hankiewicz,Roman Nowicki ,Joanna Narbutt,Zbigniew Morawiec,Dariusz Lange,Andrzej Bieniek,Grażyna Kamińska‐Winciorek ,Katarzyna Wróbel ,Robert Brodowski,Wojciech Niemczyk,Jan Morawiec,Adam Reich,Katarzyna Szczepaniak,Witold Owczarek,Dariusz Nejc,Marta Pabianek,Janusz Piekarski,Aleksandra Lesiak

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83502-8

Abstract

Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common malignancies diagnosed in Caucasian populations. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Unfortunately, most European cancer registries do not record individual types of NMSC. To evaluate the incidence of primary BCCs and SCCs regarding age, sex, tumour site and tumour subtype to determine trends in epidemiology of both cancers. Retrospective analysis of BCCs and SCCs diagnosed and treated across seven sites in Poland from 1999 to 2019. We recorded 13,913 NMSCs occurring in 10,083 patients. BCC represented 85.2% of all cases. SCC patients were older than BCC patients (77.1 ± 11.3 years vs. 70.1 ± 12.3 years, p < 0.01). The nodular subtype was the most common subtype of BCC, followed by the superficial and infiltrative subtypes. The superficial BCC subtype was more common on photoprotected areas (p < 0.01), whereas the nodular BCC subtype occurred on the face (p < 0.01). The high-risk SCC subtypes were more common on face compared to low-risk SCC subtypes (p < 0.01). BCC and SCC are common malignancies developing at various ages and anatomical sites. These data underline the need for better registration policies regarding NMSC in order to improve prevention and treatment strategies for these tumours.

Highlights

Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common malignancies diagnosed in Caucasian populations
Twenty-three percent of patients had more than one NMSC, resulting in a total of 13,913 NMSC cases (6899 men and 7014 women, ratio 0.98:1), including 11,848 Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and 2065 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (BCC:SCC ratio 5.7:1; p < 0.01)
Published data indicated that BCCs comprise about 80% of all NMSCs and this incidence continues to rise[13,14], which is consistent with the results of our multicentre study

Summary

Introduction

Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common malignancies diagnosed in Caucasian populations. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent skin cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). BCC and SCC are common malignancies developing at various ages and anatomical sites These data underline the need for better registration policies regarding NMSC in order to improve prevention and treatment strategies for these tumours. Abbreviations BCC Basal cell carcinoma BSC Basosquamous cell carcinoma NMSC Non-melanoma skin cancer SCC Squamous cell carcinoma. Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common human malignancies, with steadily rising incidence. A non-homogeneous NMSC group receives a single code (C44) to cover all NMSCs, separate data on BCCs, SCCs, and other malignancies of the skin is not available making separate diagnoses of NMSCs difficult to count and assess accurately

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