A variety of skin tumors arise from the epidermis, epidermal appendages, dermis and subcutis. Many a time clinical diagnosis becomes difficult, when histopathological examination (HPE) aids in arriving at the correct diagnosis

To study the clinical spectrum and histopathological features of suspected skin tumors, analyze the concurrence rate between the clinical and histopathological diagnoses and highlight the role of histopathology in diagnosing skin tumors.

Suspected skin tumours are as a routine biopsied for histopathological examination. A retrospective study was conducted from the documented data available over a period of 8 months in the department of dermato-venereoleprology at a tertiary care centre. A total of 65 patients with suspected skin tumors had undergone skin biopsy for histopathological examination after clinical evaluation. Sections had been stained with hematoxylin and eosin for basic study and immunohistochemistry in difficult cases.

Out of 65 clinically suspected cases, only 59(90.7%) were skin tumors; among them, clinical diagnosis correlated with histopathological features in only 35(53.8%) patients. In 19(29.2%) cases, HPE was needed for accurate diagnosis and 5(7.69%) patients needed Immunohistochemistry in addition. The most common age group was 18–35 years. The male female ratio was 1.2 1. The majority of lesions were located on the head and neck (34 cases; 57%) and the least on the vulva (1 case; 1.6%). Benign tumors were mostly soft tissue and adnexal tumors, the most common being neurofibroma; malignant lesions included basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and mycosis fungoides.

Histopathological examination is crucial to arrive at the correct diagnosis of clinically suspected skin tumors; this study emphasizes its pivotal role in the accurate diagnosis of skin tumors.