Responsiveness of metastatic basal-cell carcinoma to chemotherapy. A case report

Basal cell carcinoma normally causes major morbidity only by direct extension of the tumor into adjacent tissues. Occasionally the tumor will metastasize to distant sites such as the lungs, the bones, regional lymph nodes, and the abdominal viscera. Over 100 cases of this disseminated disease are reported in the literature. Once a tumor has metastasized beyond the regional lymph nodes it is uniformly fatal. This article reports a case of basal cell carcinoma, metastatic to the lung, which was successfully treated with cisplatin. Three other cases treated similarly are reviewed, and the prospects for treatment of advanced basal cell carcinomas with chemotherapy are discussed.