Epidemiologic profile of skin tumors in the Philippine General Hospital: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Skin tumors are one of the most common complaints among patients due to their external location and esthetic reasons. Skin tumors have a wide spectrum from being benign, with only esthetic problems, to malignant, which can be fatal. This study aimed to describe the epidemiologic profile of skin tumors in the Philippine General Hospital Out-patient Services.

This is a cross-sectional study that describes the epidemiologic profile of the different skin tumors among Filipinos who consulted at the Philippine General Hospital Out-patient Services.

Benign skin tumors are more common than malignant ones. Benign skin tumors are commonly seen in middle-aged adults, with a median age of 33 years. There was a higher proportion of benign tumors among females (n = 1256/1529, 82.15%) compared to males (n = 690/923, 74.76%). The site of predilection was the head and neck region. The most common benign skin tumor was the intradermal nevus. The older adult age group had a higher predilection for malignant tumors, with a median age of 57 years. Relatively, there was higher proportion of malignant tumors among males (n = 223/923, 25.24%) compared to females (n = 273/1529, 17.85%). The site of predilection is also the head and neck region. Among malignant skin tumors, basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer.

The epidemiologic profile of skin tumors from patients seen in the Philippine General Hospital in terms of median age at diagnosis, sex preponderance, site of predilection, and tumor classification was similar to various Asian countries located in relatively the same latitude as the Philippines.