Basal cell skin cancers: Retrospective analysis of 67 cases

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer and originates from the basal layer of the epidermis. It is most common in the head and neck region. It usually grows slowly and rarely metastasizes. The gold standard treatment is surgical excision.

In this study, it was aimed to discuss the demographic and medical data of patients treated with the diagnosis of BCC.

Sixty-seven tumors of 55 patients who were operated for BCC in our clinic between 2016 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic and medical data were analyzed.

The tumor was most commonly localized to the nose. The most common (50%) histological type was the nodular type. Recurrence occurred in one of our patients (1.5%). Surgical margin positivity was observed in six patients.

Basal cell carcinomas are most common in the head and neck region. Its frequency increases with age and is more common in men. In our patients, 98.5% of the tumors were located in the head and neck, and 89.5% were over 60 years of age. Nodular is the most common type of BCC, and the most common nodular type was detected in our study. Surgical margin positivity is observed between 9% and 37.2% after surgery, and the recurrence rate is around 5%. In our study, surgical margin positivity was 9% and recurrence was 1.5%. Evaluating the excision margins carefully in a well-lit environment and taking into account cosmetic concerns, obtaining an adequately intact surgical margin in one go may lead to the ideal treatment result.