Skin cancers diagnosed at the dermatology department of a tertiary hospital in Jordan over one year.

INTRODUCTION

Skin tumours comprise an important fraction of dermatology practice. Skin tumours can be benign or malignant, and patients can present with a merely unsightly nodule to a rapidly growing nodule. The diagnosis is made on pathological basis, which is done after performing skin biopsies.

AIM

In this study, we aim to describe the characteristics of malignant skin tumors diagnosed by skin biopsies over a one-year period (2023) at the Department of Dermatology, King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, data from biopsies that were done at our department and diagnosed as skin cancers were collected, patients' demographics were registered; including age, gender, and tumour location, and final diagnosis was recorded. Data was registered on an Excel® datasheet and analyzed using simple statistical methods.

RESULTS

There were 78 biopsies that were diagnosed as skin cancers at the department of Dermatology. Of these, the most common diagnosis was basal cell carcinoma with 38% of the biopsied cancers. Eighteen per cent were diagnosed as squamous cell carcinomas, and 15% were melanomas. Mycosis fungoides and cutaneous T cell lymphoma cases were included in this study and reached 18% of the diagnosed skin cancers in our patients.