A clinicopathologic study of precancerous skin lesions

Background: Precancerous lesions are disorders that are highly likely to become malignant. Early diagnosis of precancerous skin lesions helps to prevent skin cancers. The aim of this study was clinicopathological assessment of precancerous skin lesions in patients referred to the dermatology department of Imam Reza hospital. Method: Two hundred and nine patients who were diagnosed with precancerous lesions and referred to the dermatology department of Imam Reza hospital from 1997 to 2007 were studied. Study parameters included participants’ age, sex and occupation, type of precancerous skin lesion, clinicopathological type of the lesion and location. The data was collected from the patients’ records in the dermatology department and their microscopic slides in the pathology department. Result: The most common precancerous skin lesion was actinic keratosis (68.4%) followed by Bowen’s disease (7.2%). About 67.5% of the patients were male with a mean age of 61.7 years. Moreover, 53.1% of the patients worked outdoors. The most common site of the lesions was head and neck (83.3%) and 18.7% of lesions were associated with malignancy. The most common pathological form of actinic keratosis was the proliferative type (28.9%). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that precancerous skin lesions were more prevalent in men aged over 50 years, in sun-exposed areas and in occupations practiced outdoors. In addition to squamous cell carcinoma, these lesions could also be associated with basal cell carcinoma.