Previous diathermic therapy at the site of the development of basal cell carcinomas. A hypothesis of association.
BACKGROUND
Factors associated with the development of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) are radiation exposure, sunlight, trauma, and burns.


OBJECTIVE
We wish to further document the relationship between the development of BCCs and previous diathermic exposure for therapeutical purposes. Moreover, we compared the histological subtypes of BCCs developed in patients with or without previous therapy.


METHODS
A retrospective study of 1053 patients with BCCs seen at our dermatologic clinic was performed.


RESULTS
Twenty-three patients had histories of diathermic therapy for different osteoarticular problems. The interval of time between the treatments and the appearance of the tumor was 12-31 years. The histologic subtypes involved were the same of other BCCs on the same areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study supports the association of BCCs and diathermic therapy in the development of the tumor of the previously treated areas. Histological subtypes do not seem to be affected by environmental factors but are a characteristic of the site location of the tumor.
Betti
R
R
Clinica Dermatologica IV, Università degli Studi di Milano, Ospedale S. Paolo, Italy.
Cerri
A
A
Gualandri
L
L
Inselvini
E
E
Crosti
C
C
D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000209:etiology*; D003972:Diathermy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*