Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Skin Recurrence Rate after Different Types of Treatment

Abstract

On the basis of own investigations and a survey of the literature, it is shown that the recurrence rate following various types of treatment used for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is somewhat higher than generally assumed. Irrespective of the method used, the results obtained after treatment of recurrent BCCs are less favorable. Consequently, it is strongly recommended that patients be closely controlled for a period of years following treatment and that only specially trained doctors carry out the treatment. The possibility of centralizing treatment of BCC of the skin to dermatological units is put forward.

Basal cell carcinoma of the face: surgery or radiotherapy? Results of a randomized study

“…The overall cure rate after X-ray therapy was consistent with published results, which range from 90% to 98% (Nevrkla and Newton, 1974;Orton, 1978, Reymann, 1980Dubin and Kopf, 1983;Fitzpatrick et al, 1984;Brady et al, 1987;Petrovich et al, 1987;Ashby et al, 1989;Mazeron et al, 1989;Rowe et al, 1989;Lovett et al, 1990;Wilder et al, 1991;Silverman et al, 1992b). More relapses occurred with brachytherapy in our study (8.8% failure rate at 4 years) than published in the literature, in which failure rates are less than 5% (Daly et al, 1984;Pierquin et al, 1987;Mazeron et al, 1989;Crook et al, 1990 (Chahbazian and Brown, 1980;Goldsmith and Sherwin, 1983;Brady et al, 1987;Pierquin et al, 1987;Mazeron et al, 1989;Morrison et al, 1993;Fleming et al, 1995).…”

Clinical and Morphological Factors in Evaluation of Efficacy of Facial Carcinoma Treatment by High-Energy Pulsed Neodymium Laser

“…There are no evident differences in recurrence rate of SCCs depending on localization on the face but the insufficient number of observations does not let us affirm it with confidence. Similar correlation between clinical and morphological peculiarities of facial carcinomas and therapeutic efficacy is described for other methods of facial carcinomas treatment [1,3,7].…”

“…The most frequently recurrences (70.3%-80.0%) are revealed as well as with after other methods of therapy of skin carcinomas; it ranges from 70.0 % to 82.4 % during the first year of monitoring [2,3,7,9]. A low percentage of facial carcinoma recurrences after laser treatment might be explained by the deeply penetrating laser energy [21] so that was possible to impact on the entire tumor mass.…”

“…However treatment of skin carcinomas localized on the face presents difficulties due to the complex anatomy of the area, which localized on the face approximately in 79.6-90.6% patients [3]. The use of above mentioned methods for the treatment of facial carcinoma results in tumor recurrence in 1.6-9.5% patients [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The progress in treatment of skin carcinoma has been achieved after laser radiation was introduced into practice [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Long-term Follow-up and Histological Changes of Superficial Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers Treated With Topical δ-Aminolevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy

“…Treatment of BCC with curettage combined with electrodesiccation, particularly for not too large and not too deeply growing tumors, produced long-term disease-free rates between 90% and 95%. 17 The cure rate for BCC treated with x-rays falls between 88% and 90%. 17 Litwin et al 18 achieved an 86% cure rate for BCC and SCC using the topical chemotherapeutic agent fluorouracil (5-fluorouracil) (5%, 10%, and 20% concentrations) after follow-up periods ranging from 4 to 20 months (average, 9 months), while Stoll et al 19 noted complete tumor resolution after treatment with 5% to 20% fluorouracil in 95% of superficial BCC without recurrence within 5 years.…”