Cutaneous malignant tumors: a profile of ten years at LINAR, Larkana-Pakistan

Abstract

Background Malignant tumors of skin are a group of malignancies comprising primary and metastatic tumors which involve the skin and its appendages.Patients and methods In this observational study, a total of 300 cases of cutaneous malignant tumors were included, who visited the Larkana Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy (LINAR) for management after confirmation by histopathological examination.Results Out of 300 cases studied, the males were 195 (65%) and females were 105 (35%), showing M: F ratio of 1.85: 1. The mean age of affected cases was 47±7.694 years and mostly affected patients were farmers (47%). The duration of symptoms in majority of cases (27%) was 3-6 months.Most of the patients (71%) had lesions on face, while other parts of body like extremities, scalp and trunk were involved in 13%, 9% and 7%, respectively. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) was confirmed in 183 (61%) cases, while squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and malignant melanoma (MM) were found in 96 (32%) and 21 (7%) cases, respectively. Conclusion BCC was found to be the commonest morphological type amongst the cutaneous malignant tumors. The increasing incidence rate shows an alarming situation for our population. The unawareness of public and medical professionals about the disease and late diagnosis are contributing factors in high morbidity and mortality.