Are Chronic Venous Insufficiency and Basal Cell Carcinoma Connected?
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Chronic venous insufficiency may be related to basal cell carcinoma and may ultimately predict a poor course for the disease, according to an article published in the Annals of Vascular Surgery. “Clinically diagnosed patients with chronic venous insufficiency demonstrated greater tumor size and relapse. Solid tumors induce the host to provide the vascularized stroma they need to grow. Chronic venous insufficiency provides this type of environment,” stated Maria Leticia Cintra, MD, PhD, of Campinas, Brazil and colleagues.
The retrospective study centered on 149 patients over a 25-year period from January 1993 to December 2017. All patients exhibited basal cell carcinomas of the leg. A total of 71 of these patients had clinical diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency. Basal cell carcinomas were removed and histologically analyzed. The authors compared the results between patients with and without chronic venous carcinoma.
The authors observed, on average, a larger tumor size in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, 28 mm versus 18 mm, than in patients without chronic venous insufficiency. Local recurrence of tumors occurred in 16 of 107 patients whose tumors were entirely excised via surgery. An average recurrence time of 47 months was observed in these patients. Furthermore, 93.7% of patients who had recurrence were diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency. The researchers also detected a correlation between a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency and distal sweat duct hyperplasia (P = .001) or follicular induction (P = .04).
“In addition to the significant role of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, chronic venous insufficiency has also been considered as a possible factor associated with basal cell carcinomas in lower extremities,” noted the study authors.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
