Earlier Detection of Patients' Second Primary Basal Cell Carcinomas: A Quantitative Analysis

• Published in: Dermatologic surgery 2007-01, Vol.33 (1), p.69-72
• Main Authors: ALLEN, SHAWN B., LORTSCHER, DAVID N., SENGELMANN, ROBERTA D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - pathology; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - surgery; Dermatology; Early Diagnosis; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Mohs Surgery; Neoplasms, Second Primary - pathology; Neoplasms, Second Primary - surgery; Retrospective Studies; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - surgery; Skin plastic surgery; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Tumors of the skin and soft tissue. Premalignant lesions
• ISSN: 1076-0512; 1524-4725
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-4725.2007.33009.x

BACKGROUND Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common occurring cancer in humans. No studies to date have compared the size of a patient's first and second primary BCC to determine whether we are detecting and treating second primary cancers at earlier stages of development. OBJECTIVE The objective was to ascertain whether patients who have had a primary BCC are diagnosed and treated for subsequent BCC at an earlier clinical stage of development. METHODS AND MATERIALS We performed a 4‐year retrospective chart review of all patients presenting for Mohs micrographic surgery for two separate primary BCC. We compared the presenting clinical size of patients' first and second primary BCC. RESULTS We found a statistically significant decrease in size of the second primary BCC when compared to the first primary BCC (p