Basal Cell Carcinoma: Influence of Tumor Size on Mortality and Morbidity

Basal cell carcinoma: biology, morphology and clinical implications

“…[18][19][20] Lesions that recur after radiotherapy may infiltrate widely prior to becoming clinically apparent; this plus the fact that radiotherapy is often reserved for aggressive growth tumors ought to enhance the suspicion of perineural infiltration in recurrent BCC postirradiation. 19 The incidence of metastases and/or death is said to correlate to large tumors greater than 3 cm in diameter in which setting patients are said to have a 1-2% risk of metastases that increases to up to 20-25% in lesions greater than 5 cm and up to 50% in lesions greater than 10 cm in diameter. 21 A 'giant' BCC is designated as one that is greater than 5 cm in diameter and has a significant risk of morbidity and mortality.…”

“…21 A 'giant' BCC is designated as one that is greater than 5 cm in diameter and has a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. 19,20 A BCC arising in a young person (ie less than 35 years of age) may have an aggressive clinical course. 19 Nevoid BCC (Basal Cell Nevus) Syndrome Introduction Described originally by Howell and Caro 22 in 1959, the nevoid BCC syndrome is also known as the Gorlin-Goltz syndrome 23,24 and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with some 30-50% of cases representing sporadic mutations.…”

“…19,20 A BCC arising in a young person (ie less than 35 years of age) may have an aggressive clinical course. 19 Nevoid BCC (Basal Cell Nevus) Syndrome Introduction Described originally by Howell and Caro 22 in 1959, the nevoid BCC syndrome is also known as the Gorlin-Goltz syndrome 23,24 and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with some 30-50% of cases representing sporadic mutations. 23,24 Typically, the syndrome is expressed in young adulthood but on occasion children as young as 2 years of age manifest disease expression characterized by the presence of multiple basal cell cancers and other anomalies as described below.…”

An Overview on Basal Cell Carcinoma

“…A 'giant' BCC is designated as one that is greater than 5 cm in diameter and has a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. A BCC arising in a young person (ie less than 35 years of age) may have an aggressive clinical course (63,64). When metastatic spread occurs, regional lymph nodes are affected first followed by bone, lung, liver and abdominal viscera.. An BCC that metastasizes has an extremely poor prognosis;, the median survival of patients with metastatic BCC is about 10 months.…”

A Man with a Prosthetic Ear and Multiple Pulmonary Nodules

“…Risk factors favoring metastasis include large size, deep invasion, location on the midface or ear, local recurrence, history of radiation exposure and inadequate primary treatment [5]. The importance of tumor size was emphasized by Sahl [6], who demonstrated a nearly linear relationship between tumor diameter and subsequent metastasis. Tumors greater than 10 cm in diameter are reported to have a 45% incidence of metastasis.…”