A Waistline Skin Cancer (Dhoti Cancer) in India: Case Report

Squamous cell carcinomas developing along the waistline as a result of prolonged wearing of cotton garments such as dhoti in males and sarees in females are predominantly observed in the traditional Indian population. This specific type of waistline squamous cell cancer in Indian males who exclusively wear dhoti has been rarely documented in English literature. The continuous irritation caused by years of wearing these clothes leads to skin degeneration, glazing, dermatosis, acanthosis, scar formation, and eventually malignant transformation. Any hypo-pigmented patch and acanthosis in the waist area of a man wearing a dhoti should raise suspicion, necessitating ongoing surveillance.

We present the case of a 70-year-old male with a 4x3 cm ulceroproliferative growth on the right waistline, associated with a history of prolonged dhoti use. The treatment involved wide local excision of the growth with a 2 cm margin, and the wound was closed primarily by mobilizing the surrounding skin. Continuous monitoring is essential for early detection and intervention in such cases.