Comparative Study on the Demographic, Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Skin Basal Cell Carcinoma among Patients in Baghdad and Erbil

Worldwide, skin cancer is a major public health burden as its incidence has been increasing over the past decades. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of human cancer which is highly curative when diagnosed early.

One hundred eighty five lesions on the head and neck belonging to 140 patients who were suspected to have BCC by clinical examination in a dermatological consultation clinic of AI-Yarmook teaching hospital were compared to 170 lesions on the head and neck of 140 patients attending Erbil dermatology teaching center who were suspected to have BCC by dermatoscopic examination. More than one lesion was found in some patients. The excisional biopsies of these lesions were sent for histopathological study to confirm the diagnosis of BCC. The corresponding biopsy results were compared with the socio-demographic and clinical features of the two study settings.

No significant differences between the two study settings were noted concerning sex or smoking history. On the other hand, statistical differences were observed regarding residency, previous work and family history of skin cancer with p* value equivalent to (0.000), (0.003) and (0.000) respectively.

In both study settings patients had skin photo type III, displaying significant differences concerning clinical types. Nodular type was more common in Baghdad while ulcerative type was more evident in Erbil with P*= (0.005) and (0.000) respectively.

Sun exposure is an important risk factor for developing skin cancer specially in those resident in rural areas. Dermatoscopical examination of the skin proved to be a useful real time noninvasive visual aid in the diagnosis of BCC yielding a higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of BCC than that of clinical diagnosis.