title: Management of Mucosal Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Lip: An Update and Comprehensive Review of the Literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy in the United States. Most BCCs occur on cutaneous surfaces, but rare cases on the mucosal lip have also been documented. Because only a small number of mucosal BCC (mBCC) cases have been reported, data on their clinical characteristics and management are limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To perform an updated literature review of the management of mBCCs on the lip.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive literature review was conducted through a search of the PubMed database with the key phrases "mucosal basal cell carcinoma," "basal cell carcinoma mucosa," and "basal cell carcinoma lip mucosa."
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight cases of mBCCs have been reported, and 35 had sufficient data for analysis. The average age at presentation was 66.8 years, and 57% (n = 20) had a history of skin cancer. Most cases were treated with surgical excision or Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), with only 1 recurrence in the literature. Furthermore, the authors present 8 additional cases of mBCCs successfully treated with MMS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mucosal basal cell carcinomas are rare, and skin cancer history may be a risk factor. Because the lip is a cosmetically and functionally important area, MMS may be the preferred treatment method for mBCCs in this location.
authors.affiliation: *School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; †Carlsbad and Vista Dermatology, Vista, California; ‡Department of Dermatology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: Ashley G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Shang I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Brian Jiang
mesh_terms: D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015580:Mohs Surgery