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Multicenter Study
. 2023 Jul;149(7):3121-3129.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-022-04207-7. Epub 2022 Jul 23.

Epidemiological and clinicopathological analysis of basal cell carcinoma in Egyptian population: a 5-year retrospective multicenter study

Mohamed El-Khalawany  1   2 , Hussein M M Hassab-El-Naby  3   4 , Ahmed Mustafa Mousa  3 , Ahmed Sameh  4 , Mahmoud A Rageh  3 , Rasha Mahmoud Genedy  5 , Aya Magdy Hosny  5 , Marwa A Aboelmagd  6 , Soha Aboeldahab  6
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Epidemiological and clinicopathological analysis of basal cell carcinoma in Egyptian population: a 5-year retrospective multicenter study

Mohamed El-Khalawany et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most diagnosed type of cancer accounting for 80% of all keratinocyte malignancies. However, the exact demographic properties and clinicopathological criteria for BCC in Egyptians are not clearly reported. Our aim is to report and analyze the epidemiological and clinicopathological features of BCC in Egyptians.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records for patients diagnosed pathologically with BCC during the period from January 2017 to December 2021. Data were recruited from four dermatology centers with different geographical distributions.

Results: We registered 544 patients. Their age ranged between 22-91 years with a mean of 61.6 ± 13.2 years. Females showed younger age of onset. The mean duration of the tumor was 3.9 ± 3.8 years. The most common involved region was the head (79.4%), and about one third of patients (32.2%) had a giant lesion (> 5 cm). The most common clinical presentation was ulcerative lesions (44.9%). Pathologically, the nodular type represented the most common variant (50.4%).

Conclusion: Our results proposed that the annual incidence of BCC is increasing among Egyptians. Ultraviolet radiation is considered a high-risk factor of BCC leading to a higher affection of the head region and more prevalence in men. This study also highlights some criteria of BCC in Egyptians such as the long duration of the tumor, the early onset in females, the higher percentage of giant types, and the predominance of nodular type. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the characteristic features of BCC among Egyptians.

Keywords: BCC; Basal cell carcinoma; Clinical dermatology; Dermatopathology; Epidemiology; Keratinocyte carcinoma; Non-melanoma skin cancer; Skin cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of annually diagnosed cases of BCC
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Different clinical presentations of BCC. a, b Giant BCC affecting the scalp with almost complete deroofing of the skin. c Multiple BCCs affecting the back. d Multiple BCCs affecting the nose and paranasal area. e Pigmented BCC affecting the right periorbital area. f Ulcerative BCC with marked telangiectasia located on the right temple region
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Different pathological types of BCC. a Nodular. b Superficial. c Micronodular. d Infiltrating. e Morpheaform. f Adenoid. (a, H&E × 100; b, c, H&E × 200; d-f, H&E × 400)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Number of diagnosed cases of BCC per year in relation to age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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