A clinicopathological survey of Basal cell carcinoma in an Iranian population.
BACKGROUND
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common skin cancer, is a locally invasive malignant epidermal tumor with ulceration and destruction of underlying structures.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was clinicopathological evaluation of BCC in the state and the private pathology centers in Hamadan province during 1990-2010.


METHODS
In this retrospective study all histopathologically proven cases of BCC were reviewed and the related information including age, gender, place of residency and number of tumors for the patients alongside with the site of occurrence, size, histopathological and clinical type of the lesions were collected and then statistically analyzed, using SPSS software.


RESULTS
A total of 804 incidents of BCC were diagnosed in 746 patients (296 females and 450 males) with the most affected site being in the head-face (84.8%), neck (2.6%), trunk (1.6%) and limbs (0.9 %) and 10.1% cases with unknown site. The mean age for the patients was 61.77±13.75 years (63.07± 13.44 for males, 59.81 ± 14.01 for females) and the highest frequency (27.2%) occurred among 60-69 years age group. Nodular type was the most common clinical and histopathological BCC lesions studied whereas the mean size of the lesions was 15.67 ± 11.06 mm with more frequency rate in urban than rural regions.


CONCLUSIONS
This study focuses on the survey of BCC in Hamadan province but regarding to insufficiency of the data collected by state and provincial pathology centers about the BCC cases reported; it is highly recommended to apply comprehensive questionnaire, which are designated by skillful professionals who are familiar with the lesion nationally.
Dental Research Center, Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
M
M
Zargaran
Dept. of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
A
A
Moghimbeigi
Dept. of Pathology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Ar
A
Monsef
Dept. of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Ghazvin University of Medical Sciences, Ghazvin, Iran.
H
H
Teimourian
Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
S
S
Shojaei
BCC; Basal cell carcinoma; Frequency; Skin Cancer