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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Read more about this topic: Basal-cell Carcinoma