D EMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF BASAL CEL L CARCINOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF 1884 LESIONS

Abstract

Basal cell carcinoma represents one of the most frequent skin cancers, accounting for around 75% of all skin cancers. Numerous etiological factors contribute to its development (from the genetics to sun exposure). To present the demographic characteristics and distribution of basal cell carcinoma and to evaluate the topography of lesions and their correlations with gender, age, location, size and recurrence rate. This retrospective study included 1734 patients with 1884 lesions, treated at the Clinic of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Clinical Center Nis, from January 2012 to December 2016. The following parameters were evaluated: age, gender, location, size, histologic type, margin of excision and recurrence rate. Out of the total of 1884 tumors, there were 1621 primary and 263 recurrent cases. High risk localizations included 82.8% of primary and 68.4% of recurrent tumors. With respect to gender, primary tumors were present in 56% of men and 44% of women, while recurrent tumors were present in 41.8% of men and 58.2% of women. Concerning the tumor size, 85.3% of primary and 72.6% of recurrent tumors had a maximum of 2 cm in diameter, whereas 14.7% of primary and 27.4% of recurrent tumors had a diameter of over 2 cm. Complete excision represents a key surgical treatment of basal cell skin cancer. The obtained algorithm can be a useful guide for the monitoring and surgical treatment of basal cell skin cancer.