OBJECTIVES : Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) includes several types of skin cancer, with the most common types of tumors being basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). This study aims to describe the landscape of NMSC in Portugal, based on real world data from both the public and private sectors.

METHODS : Microdata from the administrative Diagnosis-Related Group database were used to describe BCC and SCC patients discharged from the National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in mainland Portugal (in-patient and selected outpatient admissions). Histopathological data from the private health care unit Hospital CUF-Descobertas were used to gather information regarding the number of tumors per patient.

RESULTS : The analysis using public hospitals episodes’ statistics revealed that, in 2018, the number of discharged patients with BCC was 8,152 and with SCC was 2,631. The majority of these patients were males (53.8%). Patients with SCC were, on average, older than patients with BCC (79.6 vs. 74.3 years). The face was the most common location for both types of cancer. The analysis based on data from Hospital da CUF-Descobertas revealed that, between 2009 and 2019, 1,145 patients with at least one SCC tumor underwent surgery, with an average of 1.3 tumors per patient. Among these patients, 129 had synchronous tumors (11.3%), whereas 88 patients (7.7%) had metachronous tumors. 6,949 patients, with at least one BCC tumor, were identified, with an average of 1.4 tumors per patient. Among these patients, 1,116 patients had synchronous tumors (11.3%), whereas 902 patients had metachronous tumors (13.0%).

CONCLUSIONS : The estimation of the number of patients versus the number of tumors may have an impact in the epidemiology of NMSC. Despite being common, there is still a gap in the epidemiological description of NMSC tumors.