Skin Cancer in the Incarcerated Population-A Single-Center Study.

Background: The incarcerated population may have variable access to specialty care that may affect the detection and diagnosis of skin cancer.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to characterize skin cancers in the incarcerated population and determine time to treatment initiation (TTI) after biopsy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed using data from a single-center referral hospital of incarcerated patients with biopsy-proven basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), or melanoma between January 2009 and December 2019. The main outcome measured was TTI after biopsy.

Results: One hundred thirteen patients, majority men (96.5%) and of Caucasian race (89.4%), were diagnosed and/or treated for 191 skin cancers. Of these 191 skin cancers, 118 were BCC (61.8%), 58 were SCC (30.4%), and 15 were melanomas (7.9%). The average TTI after biopsy for melanoma was 57 days (range: 21-136, median: 51, 95% confidence interval: 39.89-74.10) with an average Breslow depth of 1.57 mm.

Conclusion: The average TTI of melanoma in the incarcerated population in this study was greater than 30 days, which may have increased mortality risk.