Clinical and histopathologic findings of superficial basal cell carcinoma: A comparison with other basal cell carcinoma subtypes.
BACKGROUND
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in white populations. However, BCC is uncommon in Taiwan, and its subtype, superficial BCC (SBCC), is even less common. The characteristics of these 2 cancers in Taiwanese have never been analyzed before. Our purpose was to study the clinical and histopathologic features of SBCC in comparison with other BCC subtypes (OBCC).


METHODS
Thirty Taiwanese patients with SBCC from 1974 to 2003 were retrospectively examined at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. We analyzed the age, gender distribution, site of the lesions, clinical appearance, incidence of metastasis, and the proportion of secondary amyloid deposits. We then compared these features with those of 354 Taiwanese patients with OBCC.


RESULTS
Compared with the black pearly appearance of OBCC, erythematous plaques or patches with multiple tiny blackish papules were the most common clinical appearance of SBCC. Tumor size was significantly larger than OBCC (p < 0.05). The trunk was the most common area where SBCC arose. Conversely, OBCC occurred mainly on the head and neck (p < 0.001). Females were significantly younger than males in both SBCC and OBCC groups (p < 0.05). The frequency of secondary amyloid deposits was lower in SBCC than OBCC (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The unique findings of SBCC would help to classify the subtypes of BCC. The mechanism of development of each subtype is worth further investigation in the future.
Chen
Chih-Chiang
CC
Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taiwan, ROC.
Chen
Chang-Lin
CL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*