A Clinical Observation of Skin Tumors in the over 65 Year Old Age Group

Seo, Seong Jun; Cho, Sung Hyun; Kim, Myeung Nam; Hong, Chang Kwun; Ro, Byung In

Abstract

BACKGROUND: With the advance of socioeconomics and medical science, the population of elderly people has significantly increased. Therefore, it is necessary to study the fundamental epidemiologic survey of skin tumors in the elderly.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the recent changes in malignant, benign and premalignant skin tumors, and then compare the results with other data previously reported.
METHODS
22,393 outpatients over 65 years old visited the Department of Dermatology, Chung Ang University Hospital, from January, 1999 to December, 2005. Among them, 260 patients who suffered with skin tumors were pathologically analyzed, confirmed, and classified as having eithes a malignant, premalignant, or benign tumor.
RESULTS
The incidence of skin tumors in the over 65 year old age group was 8.0% (22,393) out of the total number of outpatients (249,486). There was no significant difference in the incidence of skin tumors from 1999 to 2001 (7.6~8.6%), but this increased gradually from 2002 to 2005 (9.1~9.8%). With the incidence of skin tumors according to age, 104 out of 260 patients (40%) were 65~70 years old, 96 patients (37.0%) were over 76 years old, and 60 patients (23.0%) were 71~75 years old. The incidence of women with malignant tumors was not much higher than in men, showing a ratio of 1.1:1. However, the incidence of men with benign tumors was a little higher than in women, with a ratio of 1.2:1. Generally, there was no significant difference in the ratio of incidence between men and women. The most common malignant tumor was basal cell carcinoma (41.1%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (26.5%), malignant melanoma (14.7%), and metastatic carcinoma (7.4%). The most common premalignant lesion was actinic keratosis (50.0%), followed by Bowen's disease (31.6%) and Paget's disease (3.8%). Finally, the most common benign tumor was seborrheic keratosis (16.9%), followed by epidermal cysts (9.0%). The most common site for malignant tumors was the face (76.0%). The face was also the most common site for premalignant tumors (68.4%). However, benign tumors were found mostly on the trunk (50.4%) and the face (27.1%).
CONCLUSION
We retrospectively studied 260 cases of skin tumors within elderly people. This study suggested that the incidence of malignant tumors and premalignant lesions had increased over the last few years.