Epidemiology of basal cell carcinoma in Lithuania, 1996-2010

Background: Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer among the white population.

Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in Lithuania by analysing population-based incidence, with special emphasis on sex- and subsite-specific changes over time.

Methods: Data from the Lithuanian Cancer Registry for the period 1996-2010 were used to analyse trends in the incidence rates for BCC. Only the first case of BCC per patient was included in this analysis. Age-standardized rates were calculated for both sexes. Standardization was performed using the direct method (European standard population).

Results: Since 1996, overall BCC incidence rates have increased from 27.4 to 46.0 cases per 100,000 in Lithuania. In 1996, the incidence of BCC was higher among women than men (28.2 vs. 27.6 per 100,000, respectively). Incidence of BCC during the study period increased faster among men than among women (by 3.3% and 2.6% per year, respectively), while the incidence among both sexes in 2010 became almost equal -46.4 among men and 47.4 among women per 100,000. The head and neck was the most common site of BCCs for both sexes (31.0 and 32.9 per 100,000 among men and women, respectively).

Conclusions: The incidence of BCC in Lithuania is lower than that reported in Northern and Western Europe. The population-based data for BCC from Lithuania are closely comparable, with regard to age, tumour localization and place of residence, with the existing literature from other European cancer registries.