BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

The basal cell carcinoma is the most common kind of skin cancer worldwide. In Europe the incidence is about 50 to 80 new patients per 100.00 persons per year, in Australia about 250 per 100.00 persons per year with upward trend.
The basal cell carcinoma appear mostly in body areas which are often and long time exposed to sunlight, especially the face (about 80 percent of the basal cell carcinoma). Typically a tumour which occurs in older age, basal cell carcinoma in the last decades arise increasingly in younger age. There is no preference of basal cell carcinoma in either men or women.

Reasons for Development 

The main reason for the development of basal cell carcinoma is the chronic exposure to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun (UV-radiation), particularly in persons with light or very light skin type. Other reasons for the appearance of skin tumours are long-term medicamental immunosuppression, for example after organ transplantation, artificial UV-radiation of tanning booths or therapeutic radiation of psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, chemical carcinogens (arsenic), ionising radiation and genetic disposition (skin type I and II, basal cell nevus syndrome). People with out-door-occupation or other out-door-activities like aquatic sports, hiking, cycling or rock climbing are also at higher risk.

Kinds of Basal Cell Carcinoma 

Clinically basal cell carcinoma mostly appear as nodular basal cell carcinoma , less frequently as superficial basal cell carcinoma.

A nodular basal cell carcinoma starts as a small, dense, skin coloured nodule which slowly develops a nodular border with small visible blood vessels and a central crust. The progress shows a not healing, sometimes bleeding ulcer which grows slowly in deepness and surrounding area.

Superficial basal cell carcinoma are not so easy to identify, they may appear as red, sometimes scaling mark or look like a cicatrice. This kind of basal cell carcinoma is called sclerodermiform basaloma.