WEDNESDAY, Nov. 29, 2023 -- Age-adjusted incidence rates of keratinocyte carcinomas (KC) are much lower for patients with skin of color than non-Hispanic Whites, according to a research letter published online Nov. 29 in JAMA Dermatology.

Lucy J. Navsaria, M.B.B.Ch., M.P.H., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues reported KC incidence and patient demographics by race and ethnicity among a random sample of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 years or older with claims from 2009 to 2018.

The researchers found that 15.7 percent of the 4,999,999 eligible beneficiaries had at least one treated KC; 97.6 and 2.4 percent were non-Hispanic White and had skin of color, respectively. Compared with non-Hispanic White patients, those with skin of color were more likely to be female (55.2 versus 51.9 percent) and older at first KC diagnosis (mean age, 77.7 versus 76.7 years). Overall, 2,498,805 KCs were identified: 98.3 and 1.7 percent in non-Hispanic Whites and patients with skin of color, respectively. The age-adjusted incidence was 1,158.2 and 11,493.2 per 100,000 person-years in patients with skin of color and non-Hispanic Whites, respectively. The age-adjusted incidence rates for basal cell carcinoma were 378.9 and 3,492.0 per 100,000 person-years for patients with skin of color and non-Hispanic Whites, respectively; the corresponding rates for squamous cell carcinoma were 453.5 and 4,881.2.

"We found differences in demographics and KC incidence between non-Hispanic White patients and patients with skin of color," the authors write. "This finding may be valuable in KC surveillance and risk factor differentiation."