Introduction:

skin cancer is a common condition in areas exposed to sunlight; it is the most common malignancy worldwide and its incidence has increased in recent decades.

Objective:

to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics in patients with malignant skin lesions.

Methods:

a descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in patients seen in the Dermatology consultation at "Octavio de la Concepción y la Pedraja" Teaching Polyclinic, Camajuaní, Villa Clara during 2016. The total number of patients diagnosed clinically and by biopsy (160) constituted the sample. The information was collected through a questionnaire and processed statistically.

Results:

in malignant skin lesions: 52.50% belonged to male gender and increased with age in both genders. It was observed that most patients received prolonged sun exposure (61.40%), for four or more hours a day, mainly male agricultural workers (28.75%), with predominance of skin phototype III (48.75%). Umbrellas are one of the most used means of sun protection (16.87%); while 32.50% of the patients did not use any. It was found that most of these lesions were located in the region of the nose (21.25%).

Conclusions:

malignant skin lesions increase with age in both genders. They are related to prolonged sun exposure, mainly in men. A predominance of skin phototype III was evidenced in agricultural workers.