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Actinic keratoses in subjects from la Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador
Martha Fors1,2, Paloma González3, Carmen Viada4
1Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA), Redondel del Ciclista, Antigua Vía a Nayón, Quito, Ecuador. martha.fors@udla.edu.ec.
Background:
Quito, the capital of Ecuador due to its geographical location, has a high skin cancer incidence. Actinic keratoses, as premalignant lesions, are precursors of nonmelanoma skin cancer, and the prevalence of this medical condition in the country is unknown.
Methods:
An observational, cross-sectional study was performed to assess the prevalence of actinic keratoses (AKs) in a rural area of Quito. Visual skin exams, dermoscopy and biopsy of suspicious lesions were performed.
Results:
A total of 254 subjects older than 40 years old (71.3% female) were enrolled. The general AK prevalence was 22.4%; in women, the prevalence was 23.6%, while in men, it was 19.4%. The prevalence rates of basocellular and squamous cell carcinomas and Bowen disease were 1.6, 0.8 and 0.4%, respectively. No statistical associations were found between AKs and the studied variables.
Conclusions:
This study was the first reporting the prevalence of premalignant lesions in Ecuador. We could not demonstrate a relationship between the presence of AKs and any of the known risk factors for their development.