Common Skin Cancers Among Patients With Skin of Color Identified

The need for photoprotection in people of color should not be overlooked, warned a study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The investigation used data from a chart review of patients with skin cancer to update the epidemiology and risk factors of keratinocyte carcinoma in people who are not white.

“As the majority of the United States population will consist of nonwhite individuals by the year 2043,” the researchers wrote, “it is essential that both physicians and patients are educated about skin cancer in nonwhite individuals.” The retrospective analysis spanned all nonwhite patients who received a biopsy-proven diagnosis of skin cancer at a Philadelphia-based dermatology center over a 7-year period.

The most common skin cancer in patients who were black or Asian was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In patients who were Hispanic, basal cell carcinoma was the most common. The majority of SCC lesions in patients who were black were in the anogenital area and other sun-protected areas, the researchers reported. Consequently, they advised examination of sun-protected areas in nonwhite patients, as well as recognition of the relationship between human papillomavirus infection and genital SCC lesions.

Current smokers were diagnosed with skin cancer an average 12.27 years earlier than former smokers, the researchers found, and 9.36 years earlier than nonsmokers.

“Smoking cessation should be integrated in dermatologic counseling of all patients,” researchers advised. “Interventions tailored to each of these ethnic groups are needed.” —Jolynn Tumolo

Reference
Nadhan KS, Chung CL, Buchanan EM, et al. Risk factors for keratinocyte carcinoma skin cancer in nonwhite individuals: a retrospective analysis [published online January 28, 2019]. J Am Acad Dermatol. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2019.01.038.