Acquired Fibrokeratoma: A Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Centre in South India

BACKGROUND: Acquired fibrokeratoma (AFK) is an uncommon, sporadic, benign, acquired, slow-growing dermo-epidermal tumour. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to summarize the demographic, clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with AFK in a tertiary care centre in South India. METHODS: We evaluated the records of 26 patients with AFK who were diagnosed and treated in our centre between January 2017 and December 2021. The retrospective data related to age, sex, occupation, consistency, duration of lesions, history of trauma, anatomical site, morphological appearance, histopathological type, treatment provided and recurrence were taken into account and analysed. RESULTS: Of the 26 patients, there were 21 males and 5 females. Fingers (n = 23) were the most common site involved, followed by toes (n = 2) and palm (n = 1). A total of 18 patients had finger-like projected lesions and eight patients had dome-shaped lesions. In histopathology, Type I AFK type was observed in 16 cases and Type II in 10 cases. CONCLUSION: We believe that our study would contribute by providing the clinical, histopathology and treatment outcomes of this uncommon dermo-epidermal tumour. The frequency of this condition is often underestimated as it is misdiagnosed for many other dermatological conditions.