Epidemiology of basal cell carcinomas in Tubarão , Santa Catarina ( SC ) , between 1999 and 2008

BACKGROUND: Skin cancer is the most frequent type of neoplasm in Brazil. There are no data on the incidence of basal cell carcinoma in the Southern region of Santa Catarina. OBJECTIVE: To establish epidemiological data on basal cell carcinoma in Tubarão, Santa Catarina, between 1999 and 2008. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which anatomopathological reports of basal cell carcinoma from the laboratories of Tubarão, Santa Catarina, were analyzed. We considered the following variables: year of diagnosis, age, gender, city of origin, tumor site, histological subtype, lesion diameter, margin involvement, and relapse. RESULTS: Reports of 3,253 subjects most frequently between the ages of 61 and 80 years diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma were obtained. The incidence of basal cell carcinoma was 164.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 1999 and 295.2 per 100,000 in 2008, showing an increase of 80%. Most lesions occurred in the cephalic region and nodular was the most common histological subtype. There was an association between males and basal cell carcinoma of the torso and ear, and between females and basal cell carcinoma of the nose. The sclerodermiform subtype was the most aggressive in relation to margin involvement. CONCLUSION: There was a prevalence of involved margins following resection in 27% of lesions. Based on multivariate analysis, lesions ? 2 cm in diameter were 5.5 times more likely to present margin involvement, and basal cell carcinoma of the face was 1.8 times more likely to occur (p <0.0001).