Basal-cell Carcinoma - Classification

Classification

Basal-cell carcinomas may be divided into the following types:

• Nodular basal-cell carcinoma (Classic basal-cell carcinoma)
• Cystic basal-cell carcinoma
• Cicatricial basal-cell carcinoma (Morpheaform basal-cell carcinoma, Morphoeic basal-cell carcinoma)
• Infiltrative basal-cell carcinoma
• Micronodular basal-cell carcinoma
• Superficial basal-cell carcinoma (Superficial multicentric basal-cell carcinoma)
• Pigmented basal-cell carcinoma
• Rodent ulcer (Jacobi ulcer)
• Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus
• Polypoid basal-cell carcinoma
• Pore-like basal-cell carcinoma
• Aberrant basal-cell carcinoma

For simplicity, one can also divide basal-cell carcinoma into 3 groups, based on location and difficulty of therapy:

1. Superficial basal-cell carcinoma, or some might consider to be equivalent to "in-situ". Very responsive to topical chemotherapy such as Aldara, or Fluorouracil. It is the only type of basal-cell cancer that can be effectively treated with topical chemotherapy.
2. Infiltrative basal-cell carcinoma, which often encompasses morpheaform and micronodular basal-cell cancer. More difficult to treat with conservative treatment methods such as electrodessiccation and curettage, or with curettage alone.
3. Nodular basal-cell carcinoma, which essentially includes most of the remaining categories of basal-cell cancer. It is not unusual to encounter morphologic features of several variants of basal-cell cancer in the same tumor.

See also:

• Nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome