Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer. It grows slowly and rarely metastasizes. It develops more easily in people with light skin phototype, and in most cases it appears in areas exposed to the sun. Find out what the symptoms of basal cell carcinoma are and what it is about to be treated. What's the prognosis?
Basal cell carcinomais the most common skin cancer, accounting for approx. 80% of their cases.
Basal cell carcinoma - causes and risk factors
People over 50, who have a fair complexion, prone to sunburn, and who frequently come into contact with arsenic compounds and pesticides, are particularly vulnerable to the development of this cancer.
- Patients with immunosuppression or taking medications that suppress the immune response are also exposed to this type of cancer, says Prof. Witold Owczarek, dermatologist.
Basal cell carcinoma - symptoms
Basal cell carcinoma is a small nodule surrounded by a curved rim. The patient's attention should be drawn to a non-healing morning covered with a crust that periodically peels off, revealing a small ulcer ("wound"), which quickly becomes covered with a new crust. Basal cell carcinoma can also be flat or flat, scaly and red.
The cancer usually takes the form of a tumor or ulcer with a crust that does not heal.
Neoplastic lesions are most often located in places exposed to the sun, mainly on the forehead, lips, nose, cheeks, neck, as well as thighs, arms and perineal area. The location of these unsightly changes on the face often worsens the patients' quality of life. They exclude themselves from professional life and activity, they lock themselves at home.
Basal cell carcinoma can also develop on the basis of damaged skin, e.g. in the area of post-vaccination scars, post-traumatic scars and under prostheses.
Basal cell carcinoma - diagnosis
First you should go to a dermatologist or an oncologist surgeon for a dermatoscopic examination. The final diagnosis is made on the basis of a histopathological examination of the excised lesion. Computed tomography is used to assess the depth of the infiltrateor magnetic resonance imaging - especially in the case of infiltration of the eye area.
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Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer. With early diagnosis, it is completely treatable
Source: lifestyle.newseria.p
Basal cell carcinoma - treatment
Basal cell carcinoma therapy is selected depending on the stage of the disease. Its basis is surgical removal of the neoplastic lesion with histopathological examination. - In cases where it is impossible, radiotherapy can be used, and in cases with a low risk of recurrence, alternative methods can be used, such as cryosurgery, sometimes pharmacological methods, such as treatment with 5-fluorouracil or imiquimod, and the photodynamic method - says Prof. Witold Owczarek. In the case of a very advanced or metastatic neoplasm, targeted therapy is the only chance for patients. They use modern drugs that inhibit the so-called hedgehog signal trail.
- Medical indications for hedgehog pathway inhibitors are available, while availability within the he althcare system is a completely different situation. The idea for the treatment of our patients would be for the medical indications to be the same as the reimbursement indications for individual therapies. However, these are modern therapies and they are usually expensive - says the Newseria news agency prof. Witold Owczarek.
Basal cell carcinoma - prognosis
Mortality in basal cell skin carcinoma is relatively low at 3%. This neoplasm rarely spreads to other tissues or organs.
Basal cell carcinoma has a tendency to relapse
Basal cell carcinoma is characterized by a high tendency to local recurrence - it occurs even in approx. 20% of sick. A neoplastic lesion may appear in the same place even several years after the first operation. The risk of relapse increases, among others in the case of a tumor larger than 2 cm and located in the central part of the face. That is why it is so important to carefully observe the operated changes and to check the skin condition at the doctor's.