title: Treatment of basal cell carcinoma with curettage alone.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although curettage and electrodesiccation (C&E) is widely used to treat basal cell carcinoma, whether electrodesiccation improves outcome is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to compare cure rates of curettage alone with those of C&E.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective records review of patients treated with curettage alone at 5-year follow-up or longer that extracted data about tumor location, size, histologic subtype, biopsy specimen margin involvement, and recurrence, as well as data about the medical history of patients treated in a dermatology clinic in a tertiary-care academic medical institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Biopsy-proven tumors (302) amenable to treatment with C&E and treated by a single investigator with curettage alone had a 5-year cure rate of 96.03%, with minimal complications (hypopigmentation, scarring). Tumors involving more than 50% of the deep edge of the shave biopsy specimen had an increased risk of recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a retrospective study based on historic controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For nonaggressive basal cell carcinoma, curettage alone has a cure rate similar to the published rates for C&E.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona 85259, USA.
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Barlow
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zalla
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kyle
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: DiCaudo
authors.forename: Katherine K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yiannias
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D003475:Curettage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*