Clinical and pathological study of 328 cases of actinic keratosis in eastern chinese patients.

Background: Actinic keratosis (AK) is prevalent and has been widely studied in fair-skinned populations. However, this is not the case in eastern countries. AK in Asians has not been so thoroughly investigated.
Objectives: To analyse the clinical and pathological features of a relatively large number of cases of AK diagnosed in older Chinese patients.
Methods: Case histories of 328 patients with pathologically diagnosed AK were analysed retrospectively. Their demographic, clinical, pathological and treatment data were collected for analysis of associated factors.
Results: Lesions were usually distributed on the face, especially the cheeks and temples. The most frequent pathological type was hypertrophic. Only 34% of the cases had been diagnosed correctly as AK before biopsy; many were mistaken for seborrhoeic keratosis.
Conclusions: Most patients were elderly females and there was a higher incidence of lesions on the face, and a lower incidence on the extremities and trunk; this finding contrasts with previous investigations in fair-skinned people.