[Skin cancer diagnosis by dermatologists in the region of Champagne-Ardenne: a prospective study].
BACKGROUND
The exact incidence of skin cancers is not well established in France as in other european countries, except for cutaneous melanoma. It is the same for the part taken by dermatologists in the screening of skin malignancies. We have therefore planned a prospective study in the Champagne-Ardenne region to determine the incidence of the various types of skin cancers diagnosed by dermatologists.


METHODS
A prospective study was performed within a 4-month period at the end of 1998 with the participation of the dermatologists of the Champagne-Ardenne and the south of Aisne. The new incident cases of skin cancers confirmed histologically were recorded using a questionnaire including the type of tumour, demographic data of the patient and type of practice of the dermatologist. Parallely, the pathology laboratories of the same region were asked about the number of squamous and basal cell carcinomas and melanomas diagnosed histologically during the same period of time.


RESULTS
The rate of participation of dermatologists was 86 p. 100. During the study period, 898 skin cancers were diagnosed in 794 patients (408 women and 386 men; mean age 70.1 years) including 643 basal cell carcinomas, 123 squamous cell carcinomas, 48 Bowen diseases, 53 melanomas, 7 lymphomas and 24 other tumours. More than 80 p. 100 of patients were primarily seen in private practice. Ten of 13 pathology laboratories of the region replied to the inquiry. From these pathological data, 585 basal cell carcinomas, 125 squamous cell carcinomas and 44 melanomas were recorded during the same period of time.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the oncologic clinical practice of dermatologists in our region is considerable. Taking into account both participation and exhaustivity rates, one can estimate at more than 3,500 the annual number of skin cancers diagnosed by dermatologists in our region, with an expected distribution of the various types of cancers. The essential role of the dermatologists in screening skin malignancies is confirmed by data provided by pathology laboratories. This role is a french characteristic and cannot by applied to other industrialized countries.
Bernard
P
P
Service de Dermatologie, CHU Robert Debré, Reims.
Derancourt
C
C
Arnoult-Coudoux
E
E
Picot
R
R
Delvincourt
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003880:Dermatology; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*