Dermoscopic features of basal cell carcinoma in skin of color: A retrospective cross-sectional study from Puducherry, South India

Abstract

Background: Dermoscopy is useful in the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). However, most descriptions of the dermoscopic features of BCCs are in Caucasians (skin types I-III) and there is a paucity of data in dark-skinned Indian patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to describe the various dermoscopic features of BCC in dark-skinned patients from South India and correlate these with the histopathologic subtypes.

Methods: A retrospective observational study of biopsy-proven cases of BCC was conducted at a tertiary care center in South India using nonpolarized contact dermoscopy.

Results: Sixty BCCs in 35 patients predominantly of skin phototypes IV or V were studied. These included 32 nodular, 27 superficial and 1 infiltrative type of BCC. The most common dermoscopic features noted were maple leaf-like areas (61.7%), blue-white veils (53.4%), ulceration (48.4%) and short fine telangiectases (46.7%). Ulceration, blue-white veils and arborizing vessels were significantly associated with nodular BCCs, while maple leaf-like areas, red-white structureless areas, multiple small erosions and spoke wheel areas were noted with superficial BCCs.

Limitations: The limitations of this study include its retrospective nature, the use of only nonpolarized light for examination, the lack of other histopathological variants of BCC as well as the lack of a comparison group.

Conclusion: We report a dermoscopic study of BCC in dark-skinned patients from Puducherry, South India. The blue-white veil was observed in half of the patients and was significantly associated with nodular BCCs. The addition of the blue-white veil to the diagnostic criteria for pigmented BCC could improve the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy in Indian patients.

Keywords: Basal cell carcinoma; blue-white veil; dark skin; dermoscopy.