Head and neck skin cancers and where to find them − A quality improvement project

As reported by Cancer Research UK, there were an estimated 132,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer and 15,400 new cases of melanoma skin cancer in the UK in 2014. The incident rates of melanomas have increased by 45% over the last decade, making it the fifth most common cancer in the UK.¹ The first author's experience in the first few days working as a Maxillofacial SHO were a truly eye-opening experience into the world of skin cancers. Prior to this, the terms ‘Basal Cell Carcinoma’ and ‘Squamous Cell Carcinoma’ were words on a slide when learning about Head and Neck/Oral Cancer. It quickly became apparent that dentists are in a prime position to aid in the identification and referral of suspicious lesions on the head and neck due to the exposure to the area on a regular basis. These thoughts prompted further research and reading as to whether there had been any literature aimed at dentists to increase the awareness. The only relevant information which could be found in the Wiley Online Library were articles written by Main et al in 2014 and Steel in 2014, both of which provided an in depth insight into the epidemiology, clinical features and management of all types of skin cancers, as well as indicating to readers the main areas of incidence on the head and neck.^{2, 3} The development of this project primarily arose from the curiosity as to whether the awareness of skin cancer is being taught to undergraduates, or whether the exposure and knowledge of these conditions only occurs to those postgraduates who take a maxillofacial post.