Actinic cheilitis can progress to squamous cell carcinoma in 20% of cases. The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical characteristics of 75 patients with actinic cheilitis and to summarise the current literature concerning actinic cheilitis. A total of 75 patients were evaluated over a 3-year period. The medical history, physical examination results and images were collected from each patient. Demographic data were collected and analysed. To review the literature, the relevant data were collected from scientific journals in the last 30 years. The mean age of the patients was 56 years old; 42 patients (56%) were female, and 66 patients (88%) were white. Nineteen (25.3%) patients reported at least one symptom, including pain, burning and itching. Sixty-five (86.7%) patients presented actinic cheilitis only in the lower lip. All of the patients reported sun exposure, and 44 (58.6%) patients were exposed for more than 10 years. The main clinical aspects investigated and analysed included dryness (100%), flaking (72%) and white lesions (57.3%). Lip assessment is extremely important in medical and dental care. From the 15 lesions assessed in the presence of actinic cheilitis, the most common clinical characteristics observed were dryness, flaking and white lesions. It is imperative to know the clinical aspects that may be encountered in actinic cheilitis in order to achieve early diagnosis, thus avoiding lip squamous cell carcinoma transformation.

Background: Basosquamous carcinoma (BSC) is a rare non-melanoma skin cancer, considered to be a subtype of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). BSC often produces distant metastases with a higher risk of recurrence than that of BCC which is not commonly found in the lip. Case Report: A 57-year-old white female patient presented an ulcer on her lower lip that had an ongoing development for over six months. Physical examination, photo documentation, videoroscopy, scraped cytology, toluidine blue test, and biopsy of the ulcer were carried out. Results: Upon physical examination we observed an actinic cheilitis associated with the ulcer. Videoroscopy revealed the presence of fissures and erosion that had not been seen by oroscopy. Toluidine blue test was only positive for the region of the ulcer. Cytological analysis revealed rare nests compatible with carcinoma. Histopathology of the biopsy revealed a carcinoma with nests lined by basal cells associated with areas of squamous differentiation. The patient was then referred to surgery for the removal of the BCC. Analysis of the specimen showed free surgical margins and the immunohistochemical panel did not confirm the initial diagnosis of BCC, indicating a subtype of BSC. After surgery, the patient has been followed by periodic consultations. She is well and without further complications. Coments: BSC is considered to be an aggressive and rare tumor affecting mainly upper face and primarily affects men over 60 years of age. Since our patient is a woman presenting the lesion in the lower lip, this highlights the unusual and interesting presentation of this case report.