Cancer surveillance, metastasis, and identification on skin of color: A retrospective cohort analysis

Summary: Cancer surveillance, metastasis, recurrence, and identification on skin of color (SOC) have been underreported. This study aims to reduce this knowledge gap and describe the oncodermatological needs of this population encountered at a National Cancer Institute-designated center. This retrospective cohort analysis utilized data from patients with a history of cancer and SOC, evaluated by Dermatology at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center between 2018 and 2021. Our cohort comprised 257 patients, predominately female (56.8%), with a mean age of 61.2 years (SD= 15.4), who primarily identified as Hispanic (56.4%) and/or Black (35.8%). Overall, the most common cancers identified on the skin were cutaneous lymphoma (24.3%), squamous cell carcinoma (19.8%), sarcoma (16.9%), melanoma (15.8%), and basal cell carcinoma (12.4%). Out of 264 diagnoses, cancer surveillance accounted for 115/264 (43.5%) of total encounters, with 24.3% being newly diagnosed skin cancers. Out of all cancer identifications on the skin, 14.7 % were metastasis or recurrences of previously identified cancers. These findings will aid providers in the diagnosis and anticipation of cancers in this immunosuppressed population, as individuals with darker complexions have historically faced delays in the accurate identification of cutaneous disease. Emely Tejeda¹, Alana R. Deutsch², Rachel Santana Felipes¹, Yana Kost¹, Lindsay Pattison², Ahava Muskat¹, Beth N. McLellan² 1. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States. 2. Dermatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Department of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research