Frequency of skin cancer and solar keratoses in a rural southern county as determined by population sampling

The frequency of skin cancer and solar keratoses in a rural Tennessee county was surveyed using techniques of cluster sampling. Trained nurses and dematologists interviewed and examined 978 Caucasian adults. of these, 16.3% were found to have solar keratoses (usually multiple), and 4.4% appeared to have skin cancers. There is no question that all discovered skin cancers require definitive treatment. The great number of discovered keratoses, however, raises questions about the practicality of their surgical treatment.