Basal-cell carcinomas on the scalp of a black patient many years after epilation by x rays

The development of skin cancers in areas treated with X rays for benign dermatoses has not been common. Moreover, basal-cell carcinomas in blacks are exceedingly rare. We report successive development of two basal-cell carcinomas in the hair-covered scalp of a black man three decades after he had undergone epilation of the scalp by X rays of tinea capitis while a youth.