RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Reports regarding squamous cell carcinoma of the nail unit (SCCnu) are rare in Asia. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the features of SCCnu in the Asian population. METHOD: We performed a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with SCCnu at our institution between 2012 and 2017. RESULTS: Nineteen cases were included. Thirteen patients were male (68.4%). The fingers were most frequently affected (73.7%). Mean delay to diagnosis was 62.4 months. Misdiagnosis rate was high (78.9%). Frequent clinical features were subungual tumor, subungual hyperkeratosis, nail dystrophy, ulcer, and nail loss. The majority of cases were invasive SCC in 15 cases (78.9%), while SCC in situ was found in four cases (21.1%). Local recurrence was detected in two cases (10.5%) following surgical resection. However, distant metastasis was not reported. CONCLUSION: This study provides data of 19 SCCnu cases in Asia. Clinical characteristics of SCCnu in this study were similar to those of reports from Western countries. However, we found a higher frequency of more invasive cases and longer delay to diagnosis in our study; this advocates the need for greater attention on nail disorders among healthcare providers, particularly in Asia.