Should variation of serum lipid levels be considered a risk factor for the development of basal cell carcinoma?

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cutaneous neoplasm in human beings. Ultraviolet radiation is one of the most important predisposing factors for BCC. Although some recent investigations have shown a high serum level of phospholipids in actinic keratosis and BCC, this subject is still debated and needs approval. This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum lipid level and development of cutaneous BCC.

In this case-control study, lipid profile including triglyceride (TG), Cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were measured in 30 patients with BCC and 30 healthy controls. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical tests including t tests and Chi square test.

This study shows that the mean age of the case and control groups were 63.93 ± 12.09 and 61.57 ± 21.1 years (mean ± SD), respectively. The average amount of triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL in the BCC patients were 139.73 ± 69.11 mg/dl, 179.20 ± 43.42 mg/dl, 39.40 ± 9.30 mg/dl and 110.70 ± 34.13 mg/dl, respectively, whereas these amounts in the control group were 141.83 ± 80.41 mg/dl, 173.60 ± 96.32 mg/dl, 36.97 ± 6.35 mg/dl, 110.70 ± 34.13 mg/dl and 104.87 ± 30.85 mg/dl, respectively. No significant difference was found in the lipid profile of the case and control groups (P > 0.05%).

This study shows that the serum lipid levels in patients with BCC has no significant difference in comparison with the control group and, therefore, relevance between BCC and serum lipid level is not proven. Further studies with a larger sample size are necessary for evaluating this subject.