Prevalence of Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinomas in African Albino Skin Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Proportion

Onyishi, Nnaemeka; Ohayi, Samuel

doi:10.30491/ijmr.2021.274301.1189

Prevalence of Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinomas in African Albino Skin Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Proportion

Document Type : Meta-Analysis

Authors

Nnaemeka Onyishi

Samuel Ohayi

Histopathology Department, Enugu State University College of Medicine Parklane, Enugu, Nigeria

10.30491/ijmr.2021.274301.1189

Abstract

Introduction: Keratinocyte carcinomas are the most common malignant conditions in Caucasian populations. African albinos have hypomelanized sensitive skin that is quite susceptible to photo carcinogenesis. Of the keratinocyte carcinomas, Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) has been found more frequent in pigmented Africans, while Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) predominates in Caucasians. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of cutaneous SCC and BCC in all histologically confirmed skin cancer lesions in African albinos.
Data Source: Five databases: African journals on line (AJOL), PUBMED, Europe PMC, Google scholar, and Cochrane library
were searched for relevant articles.
Study Selection: Included studies were case series and cross sectional studies of histologically confirmed skin cancers in African albinos. Data extraction and synthesis was informed by Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Guideline. By random effect meta-analysis, we calculated the pooled prevalence of SCC and BCC in skin cancer lesions of the African albino.
Results: We abstracted 695 skin cancer lesions from 540 African albinos (275 male and 241 female albinos with sex not stated in 24 subjects). There were 419 SCCs and 249 BCCs. By meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of SCC was 64% (95% CI: 50- 77%). In addition, the prevalence for BCC was 31% (95% CI: 19-45%).
Conclusion: Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant type of keratinocyte carcinoma reported in African albinos.

Keywords

Keratinocyte Carcinoma

African Albino

Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Skin Cancer