BACKGROUND: Although skin cancer incidence has recently increased, there has been little research into the incidence, clinical manifestations, and prognosis of skin cancers in Korea, especially in Daegu City and the Kyungpook Province. OBJECTIVE: To analyze changes over the recent two decades in incidence and clinical patterns, including recurrence of skin cancers diagnosed at a university hospital in Daegu City. METHODS: We reviewed 1,566 skin cancer cases from 1994 to 2013 at the Department of Dermatology in Kyungpook National University Hospital (KNUH). We also divided them into first (1994~2003) and second group (2004~2013) to examine changes over the years. RESULTS: The average incidence of skin cancers among the total number of outpatients was 1.39% through whole study period including 0.38% in the first and 2.10% in the second decade. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) was the most commonly diagnosed skin cancer (total:1st:2nd=0.60%:0.16%:0.91%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (0.43%:0.12%:0.65%) and malignant melanoma (MM) (0.22%:0.05%:0.34%). The most common skin cancer site was the face in each decade. The recurrence of three major skin cancers (BCC, SCC and MM) was diagnosed in 49 of the 1,402 patients (3.50%). In each disease, the recurrence rate (1st:2nd) was 1.64% (BCC, 4.11%:1.34%), 3.51% (SCC, 11.11%:2.55%), and 8.57% (MM, 4.35%:9.01%). CONCLUSION: This epidemiological study provided useful information about the incidence and prognosis of skin tumors in Korea, especially in Daegu City and Kyungpook Province.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Daegu* ; Dermatology ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Gyeongsangbuk-do* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Melanoma ; Outpatients ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms