Basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It rarely metastasizes or kills, but it is still considered malignant because it can cause significant destruction and disfigurement by invading surrounding tissues.
Statistically, approximately 3 out of 10 Caucasians develop a basal cell cancer within their lifetime. In 80 percent of all cases, basal cell cancers are found on the head and neck.
- Nodular basal cell carcinoma (Classic basal cell carcinoma)
- Cystic basal cell carcinoma
- Cicatricial basal cell carcinoma (Morpheaform basal cell carcinoma, Morphoeic basal cell carcinoma)
- Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma
- Micronodular basal cell carcinoma
- Superficial basal cell carcinoma (Superficial multicentric basal cell carcinoma)
- Pigmented basal cell carcinoma
- Rodent ulcer (Jacobi ulcer)
- Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus
- Polypoid basal cell carcinoma
- Pore-like basal cell carcinoma
- Aberrant basal cell carcinoma
For simplicity, one can also divide basal cell carcinoma into 3 groups, based on location and difficulty of therapy:
- Superficial basal cell carcinoma, or some might consider to be equivalent to "in-situ". Very responsive to topical chemotherapy such as Aldara, or Fluorouracil. It is the only type of basal cell cancer that can be effectively treated with topical chemotherapy.
- Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma, which often encompasses morpheaform and micronodular basal cell cancer. More difficult to treat with conservative treatment methods such as electrodessiccation and currettage, or with currettage alone.
- Nodular basal cell carcinoma, which essentially include most the remaining categories of basal cell cancer. It is not unusual to encounter morphologic features of several variants of basal cell cancer in the same tumor.
See also:
- Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome
About two-thirds of basal cell carcinomas occur on sun-exposed areas of
the body. One-third occur on areas of the body that are not exposed to
sunlight, emphasizing the genetic susceptibility of basal cell cancer
patients.
Further Reading
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"Basal cell carcinoma"
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