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Significance of pre-existent conditions in basal cell carcinoma on the lower extremities
T Nogita1, T Kamikawa, M Kawashima
1Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Women's Medical College, Japan.
Background:
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) rarely appears on the lower extremities; over 85% appear on the head and neck.
Case Reports:
Five patients had BCC on the lower extremity. Histologically, this was of the superficial type. One patient developed a lesion of actinic keratosis.
Results:
The presence of pre-existent cutaneous changes of BCC arising on the lower extremities was studied. Among 40 tumors reported in Japan, 10 cases (25%) had pre-existent cutaneous changes. This value is significantly higher than those of BCC over the whole body in both Japanese and Caucasian.
Conclusions:
Pre-existent cutaneous changes, thus, are thought to be a possible etiologic factor in the pathogenesis of BCC on the lower extremities.