Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer. It can be destructive and disfiguring. Risk is increased for individuals with a family history of the disease and a high cumulative exposure to UV light via sunlight or, in the past, carcinogenic chemicals especially arsenic. Treatment is with surgery, topical chemotherapy, x-ray, cryosurgery, photodynamic therapy, or topical immune enhancement drugs such as imiquimod. It is rarely life-threatening but if left untreated can be disfiguring, cause bleeding and produce local destruction (eg., eye, ear, nose, lip). more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
Babesiosis
Bacterial endocarditis
Bacterial food poisoning
Bacterial meningitis
Bacterial pneumonia
Balantidiasis
Bangstad syndrome
Bardet-Biedl syndrome
Bardet-Biedl syndrome
Bardet-Biedl syndrome
Bardet-Biedl syndrome
Barrett syndrome
Barth syndrome
Basal cell carcinoma
Bathophobia
Batrachophobia
Batten disease
Becker's muscular dystrophy
Becker's nevus
Behcet syndrome
Behr syndrome
Bejel
Bell's palsy
Benign congenital hypotonia
Benign essential tremor...
Benign fasciculation...
Benign paroxysmal...
Berdon syndrome
Berger disease
Beriberi
Berylliosis
Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann...
Bibliophobia
Bicuspid aortic valve
Biliary atresia
Binswanger's disease
Biotinidase deficiency
Bipolar disorder
Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome
Blastoma
Blastomycosis
Blepharitis
Blepharospasm
Bloom syndrome
Blue diaper syndrome
Blue rubber bleb nevus
Body dysmorphic disorder
Boil
Borreliosis
Botulism
Bourneville's disease
Bowen's disease
Brachydactyly
Brachydactyly type a1
Bradykinesia
Bright's disease
Brittle bone disease
Bromidrosiphobia
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiolotis obliterans...
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Brown-Sequard syndrome
Brucellosis
Brugada syndrome
Bubonic plague
Budd-Chiari syndrome
Buerger's disease
Bulimia nervosa
Bullous pemphigoid
Burkitt's lymphoma
Byssinosis
Cavernous angioma
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Forms

Various forms are recognised:

  • Nodular: flesh-colored papule with telangiectasis. If it ulcerates, it becomes a "rodent ulcer" (ulcus rodens), an ulcerating nodule with (often) a pearly border.
  • Cystic: rarer and hard to distinguish from the nodular form. It has a central cavity with fluid.
  • Pigmented: a variant of the nodular form that may be confused with melanoma.
  • Sclerosing/cicratising: a scar-like lesion.
  • Superficial: a red scaling patch

About two thirds of the carcinomas occur in sun-exposed areas and onw third occur in non-sun-exposed areas, emphasizing the genetic susceptability of the basal cell cancer patients.

Diagnosis

To diagnose, a biopsy (where tissue is taken for pathological study) is done using local anesthesia. In small lesions, the tumor is generally removed in its entiriety, while larger ones are biopsied first and surgically removed later if it is confirmed that it is malignant.

Histopathology: Basal cell carcinoma is a malignant epithelial tumor arising only in skin, from the basal layer of the epidermis or of the pilosebaceous adnexa. Tumor is represented by compact areas, well delineated and invading the dermis, apparent with no connection with the epidermis. Tumor cells resemble normal basal cells (small, monomorphous) are disposed in palisade at the periphery of the tumor nests, but are spindle-shaped and irregular in the middle. Tumor clusters are separated by a reduced stroma with inflammatory infiltrate. 1

Pathophysiology

Basal cell carcinomas develop in the basal cell layer of the skin. Sunlight exposure leads to DNA crosslinking between thymidine residues. While DNA repair removes most UV-induced damage, not all crosslinks are excised. There is, therefore, cumulative DNA damage leading to mutations. Apart from the mutagenesis, sunlight depresses the local immune system, possibly decreasing immune surveillance for new tumor cells.

Prevention & Early Diagnosis

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer. It occurs mainly in fair-skinned patients with a family history of this cancer. Sunlight is a factor in about two thirds of these cancers, but one third occur in non sun-exposed areas. Therefore, dermatologists recommend sun screens and annual skin cancer exams to prevent or provide early detection of this common tumor.

Treatment

Most basal cell carcinomas are removed surgically by dermasurgeons. A common method is "electrodessication and curettage" (ED&C). This is done by scraping the tumor out with a curette and cauterizing the base and margins. The wound is left to heal by itself (secondary intention healing). The cure rate and cosmetic result are excellent, especially in concave areas. It is also the most cost effective treatment. Surgical excision by the dermasurgeon is another option with the margins of excised tissue examined under the microscope. Certain types, like the sclerosing basal cell cancers may need a wider margin, as they develop subtle processes that project outside the visible part of the tumor.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Celecoxib in preventing basal cell carcinoma in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome - Clinical Trial Review
From Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 10/1/03

This study is currently recruiting patients.

Sponsored by University of California at San Francisco, National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Chemoprevention therapy is the use of certain drugs to try to prevent the development of cancer. The use of celecoxib may be an effective way to prevent the development of basal cell carcinoma. This randomized phase II trial will study the effectiveness of celecoxib in preventing basal cell carcinoma in patients who have basal cell nevus syndrome.

Study ID Numbers: CDR0000068817; UCSF-U19-CA81888-BC; UCSF-H473-16531-02B; NCI-P01-0190 NLM Identifier: NCT00023621

COPYRIGHT 2003 Journal of Drugs in Dermatology
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

Return to Basal cell carcinoma
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay