Clinical and histopathologic characteristics of skin malignancies in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Background and objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the pattern of skin malignancies in Qassim region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data of histopathological confirmed cases of skin malignancies were collected from all the referral hospitals of Qassim region during a period from January 2000 to July 2009. Results: Out of 94 cases majority (90.4%) were Saudis, and males (74.5%). The most common malignant skin lesion was BCC (58.5%) followed by SCC (18.1%) and MM (11.7%), respectively. Other malignancies seen were DFSP (4.3%), sebaceous carcinoma (2.1%) and skin secondaries from lung, lymphoma and stomach (4.3%). The most common site was face for BCC, trunk for SCC, and limbs for MM. The DFSP did not show any particular pattern. Conclusion: All major types of skin malignancies were seen with patterns similar to those reported from various other regions of Saudi Arabia and other countries except for Kaposi's sarcoma which was not encountered in our study.