The pattern of skin cancers at a referral hospital in Northern Saudi Arabia

21 patients with biopsy-proven skin cancers were seen during an 8-year period (January 1988 to December 1995) at a referral hospital in Northern Saudi Arabia. The annual incidence of skin cancers was 2.63 per 100,000 base population. Skin cancer was the fourth most common cancer, constituting about 10% (21/211) of the total malignant neoplasms seen in the hospital during the study period. Squamous cell carcinoma was the commonest type of skin cancer (38.1% of total skin cancers), with an annual incidence of 1 per 100,000. It was closely followed by basal cell carcinoma (33.3%) with an annual incidence of 0.88 per 100,000 and malignant melanoma (23.8%) with an incidence of 0.63 per 100,000 per annum. There was one case of Kaposi's sarcoma (4.8%) with an annual incidence of 0.13 per 100,000. Skin cancer was more common in males, with a M/F ratio of 2:1. The ratio of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was 0.88 to 1. This contrasts with Caucasian populations, which tend to have a higher BCC/SCC ratio. A similar pattern has been reported from studies in the Southern provinces. The relatively low incidence of skin cancers as compared to Western countries, despite the long sunny periods, may be due to the relatively young population and the dark skin colour of most Saudis.