بروز و توزیع جغرافیایی سرطان پوست در استان کردستان ایران

Background and Aim: Skin cancer is one of the most common human cancers. Its incidence rate trend is increasing in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, incidence rate and geographical distribution of skin cancer to identify the high risk areas in Kurdistan province, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the collected data were analyzed using version 16 of SPSS software, and t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for comparison of the means. The distribution map of skin cancer in the province was prepared using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, version 9.3 between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2010. In order to investigate the reason for high rates of skin cancer in some cities, ultraviolet (UV) radiation distribution map was also prepared. Results: Sanandaj with 17.55/100000 had the highest and SarvAbad with 3.73/100000 had the lowest incidence rates. The number of male patients (542) was nearly two times of female cases (324), (P<0.0001). In addition, skin cancer was about two times more prevalent in urban (%68.01) than rural (%31.99) residents (P=0.008). Conclusion: Life style of men and their sun exposure because of their job seemed to be a major risk factor in increasing the incidence of skin cancer in Kurdistan province, Iran. There was no correlation between the skin cancer incidence at the district level and UV index. Further research is recommended to explain this finding.