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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Cell Population Analyses During Skin Carcinogenesis
Published on: August 21, 2013
Growth rate of basal cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis and systematic review
Marta Fijałkowska1, Michał Bonczar2, Ignacy Jastrzębski2
1Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery, Second Chair of Surgery Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Introduction:
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer, especially in fair-skinned adults, and the lifetime risk of its incidence in this population is estimated to be approximately 30%. We present a meta-analysis and systematic review summarizing the size of the growth rate in BCC, depending also on its subtypes.
Material And Methods:
To find all relevant studies, online medical databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched regarding the growth rate of BCC.
Results:
A total of 7 studies were included in this review. Five studies contained data on the growth rate of basal cell carcinomas. The mean growth rate for the longer axis of the BCC was established to be 0.71 mm/month (standard error: 0.22).
Conclusions:
The presented analysis shows that BCC is generally a slow-growing tumour, with a mean growth rate of about 0.7 mm/month. However, it was proven that this growth rate differs depending on the BCC subtype.
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