Assessment of excision of basal cell carcinoma: did GPs really ‘underperform’?

Abstract

Much of the work on basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in the literature mainly focused on the assessment of BCC excision completeness and comparing the performance of GPs, plastic surgeons and dermatologists. While most studies have consistently reported that GPs tended to do less well than the other specialists, little or no work was done to explore this even further.The study aimed: 1) to assess the performance of GPs, dermatologists and plastic surgeons in excision of basal cell carcinoma. 2) To identify factors or predictors of excision completeness. 3) To identify certain patterns of excision made by each specialty, including excision cut margin, size of lesion, confidence in diagnosing skin lesion, etc.

High-risk basal cell carcinoma excision in primary care: a retrospective observational study of compliance with NICE guidance

“…Various studies have reported on inadequacy of completeness of excision of BCCs in primary care. In a review of 366 BCC excisions in Aberdeen, 13 those excised by GPs had a 34.1% incomplete excision rate. In a review from the Netherlands in 2009 14 of 1898 pathological specimens of skin tumours excised by GPs, 35% were incomplete and 65.4% were incomplete from the face and neck region.…”