Basal Cell Carcinoma on the Nose Versus Other Sites of the Face: Appropriate Treatment Considerations
Posted: Wednesday, December 1, 2021
According to Hossein Kavoussi, MD, of the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and colleagues, the clinicopathologic characteristics of basal cell carcinoma may differ depending on the area of the face affected. The results of a cross-sectional study, which were published in the Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology, demonstrated that patients with basal cell carcinoma on the nose seemed to present significantly more recurrent lesions and high-risk pathologic types.
Between 2013 and 2018, the investigators identified a total of 328 patients with 371 documented facial basal cell carcinomas in western Iran. Of these lesions, 38.8% were on the nose, 75.8% were primary lesions, 97.8% had no perineural invasion, 89.2% were nodular, and 65.8% were of a nodular clinical and pathologic type.
Patients with basal cell carcinoma on the nose seemed to experience a significantly earlier onset (P < .001) and shorter disease duration (P < .001) than those with lesions on other sites of the face; smaller (P < .001) and recurrent (P = .013) lesions, as well as lesions of high-risk pathologic type (P = .01), were also observed at significantly higher rates in patients with basal cell carcinoma on the nose. These populations did not seem to significantly differ in terms of gender (P = .654), high-risk clinical type (P = .06), and perineural invasion (P = .275).
“Considering the nasal site as an important cosmetic unit, more limitation of the nose in performing any procedure, and presence of the more risk factors in the nose than in other areas of the face, the definite treatment of nasal basal cell carcinoma requires special attention, expertise, and experience,” the investigators concluded.
Disclosure: No information regarding conflicts of interest was provided.
