Background: Earlier studies have shown that the incidence of all varieties of skin cancers is lower among Indians due to the protective effects of melanin.However the pattern of skin cancers in kashmir valley is different from the rest of India due to the presence of Kangri cancer. Objective: Our aim was to assess the distribution pattern of skin tumours among ethnickashmiri population presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir and comparison of clinical diagnosis with histopathological confirmation. Methods: This study was a prospective hospital based which was conducted over a one year period on patients’ attending the outpatient department of Dermatology of our hospital and presenting with clinical features suspicious of benign or malignant skin tumours .All the relevant investigations including a skin biopsy were done in every individual patient to determine the type of tumour. Results: Skin tumours constituted 0.55% of the total patients studied during the one year period. Benign skin tumours were more common followed by premalignant skin tumours. Limitations of the study: This was a descriptive study in which only the patients presenting to our hospital were taken for the study to determine the pattern of skin tumours and hence the prevalence could not be determined. Moreover aetiological factors were not taken into consideration. page2 page 3 Conclusion: Skin tumours constituted less than 1% of all the diagnosed diseases seen in one year, which is consistent with studies done in other parts of India but less than that of the western countries.
