Skin Carcinoma in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria [A Referral Study]

Skin carcinoma are malignant out-growths of the epidermis and are primarily basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas, with risk factors among ultraviolet light, light coloured skin, age, male gender, irradiation and impaired immunity. This paper brings to the fore the pattern of skin carcinoma in the Niger Delta region using the parameters of age, sex, tumor type/site and histologic types. A five-year retrospective study of 79 cases from referral hospitals in Port Harcourt using inclusion criteria of patient age, sex and anatomic site of cancer. Histological diagnosis/staging was done based on WHO classification. 38 of the 79 studied cases were skin carcinomas (48:1%) with squamous cell carcinoma accounting for 32 (84:2%) and basal cell for 6 (15:8%), with age ranges from 24 to 81 years. The male to female ratio was 23:15 with the greatest number in the 30-39 years bracket. In our study, the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in our environment far outweighed that reviewed by literature. We deduce that this may be due to low reportage/presentation of basal cell carcinomas, which are not as malignant as squamous cell carcinomas.

Key Words: Carcinomas, basal cell, squamous cell, Niger Delta