Trends in Cancers of the Skin: Insights from a Three-year Observational Cohort in Manhattan Beach, California

• Published in: The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology 2022-01, Vol.15 (1), p.42-47
• Main Authors: Moy, Lawrence S, Hands, Jacob M, Shitabata, Paul K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original Research
• ISSN: 1941-2789; 2689-9175

There exists significant heterogeneity in the presentation of "common" skin cancers such as cutaneous melanoma (CM), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Meaningful differences are often observed among the trio concerning age, sex, site at presentation and laterality. In this paper, we endeavor to elucidate such heterogeneity, reaffirm burgeoning trends in skin cancer incidence, and offer new insights in the presentation of common skin cancers. While agreement with current consensus was achieved with regard to various aspects of sex, age, and site-specific findings, several novel results emerged: (1) the percentage of subjects presenting with CM was demonstrably higher than population averages would estimate; (2) melanoma exhibited a pronounced right-side bias; (3) cSCC was not head and neck preferring as other reviews have documented (4) cSCC exhibited greater female bias. In this study, we documented insights from 663 cases (397 unique subjects) across a range of factors including age, laterality, site of presentation, and sex specific differences in incidence. The results of our analysis generally accord well with previous findings, replicating several of the most prominent results.