Dermatológia pre prax 1/2017

Non-melanoma skin cancer: the regional differences in the incidence and proportion of basal and squamous cell carcinoma

Non-melanoma skin cancer is recently the most common malignancy in white human population. The vast majority of the cases comprises basal cell carcinoma (BCC), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Although the incidence of disease is rising continuously, an exact number of newly diagnosed or total number of BCC and SCC is very difficult to analyze, because most countries did not record them separately in the oncologic registers or population databases. Through literature review, the author provides the basic data on the incidence and ratio between BCC and SCC in distinct world regions and points to marked geographic differences. The highest incidence of both cancers has been found in Australia, followed by USA, Europe and Asia. The ratio between BCC and SCC has also greatly varied with the highest values in USA and Europe, lower in Australia, and the lowest in Asia and Africa, in which SCC may even outnumber BCC. The author highlights the need for research and collection of worldwide data regarding the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer, which are crucial to achieve objective, reliable and comparable epidemiologic knowledge about this frequent malignancy.

Keywords: non-melanoma skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma