Analysis of the incidence of the eyelid malignant tumors in the Republic of Belarus over 25 years

Objective. To study the incidence of malignant tumors of the eyelid skin and indicators reflecting the state of diagnostics of these neoplasms in the Republic of Belarus. Material and methods. An analysis of data from the Belarusian Cancer Registry over a 25-year period (from 1998 to 2022) was carried out. The study included 10.393 cases of diseases with a cytologically and/or morphologically confirmed diagnosis: C44.1 — basal cell cancer of the skin of the eyelid, other malignant neoplasms of the skin of the eyelid, including eyelid commissure, and C43.1 — melanoma of the eyelid skin, including eyelid adhesion. Results. In the structure of the incidence of all malignant neoplasms of the skin, malignant diseases of eyelid skin in 1998 amounted to 7.1%, and in 2022 their rate was 4.8%. The decrease in the extensive proportion occurred due to a general increase in the incidence of skin cancer and melanoma of all locations, especially basal cell carcinoma. Over 25 years, there has been a more than twofold increase in the number of newly registered primary cases of eyelid skin neoplasms from 293 in 1998 to 496 in 2022. The main increase was in basal cell forms of eyelid skin cancer. Analysis of tumor prevalence according to the «T» criterion indicates a satisfactory state of early-stage diagnosis of basal and squamous cell carcinoma. Skin melanoma was detected much worse in the initial stages of the disease. Only in a quarter of patients (25.5%) the disease was detected at T1N0M0, and in 14.9% — at T2N0M0. Conclusion. A twofold increase in the incidence of eyelid skin tumors (mainly due to basal cell carcinoma) was revealed. Diagnosis of eyelid skin melanoma during medical examinations and visits from citizens requires improvement through the training of primary care doctors and the development of an examination algorithm with mandatory consultation with an ophthalmologist.