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Basal cell carcinoma - Symptom

Alternative Names

Rodent ulcer; Skin cancer - basal cell; Cancer - skin - basal cell

Symptoms:

Basal cell carcinoma may look only slightly different than normal skin. The cancer may appear as skin bump or growth that is:

Pearly or waxy
White or light pink
Flesh-colored or brown

In some cases the skin may be just slightly raised or even flat.

You may have:

A skin sore that bleeds easily
A sore that does not heal
Oozing or crusting spots in a sore
Appearance of a scar-like sore without having injured the area
Irregular blood vessels in or around the spot
A sore with a depressed (sunken) area in the middle

Signs and tests:

Your doctor will check your skin and look at the size, shape, color, and texture of any suspicious areas.

If skin cancer is a possibility, a piece of skin will be removed from the area and examined under a microscope. This is called a skin biopsy. This must be done to confirm the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma or other skin cancers. There are many types of skin biopsies. The exact procedure depends on the location of the suspected skin cancer.

Reviewed last on: 2/5/2008
Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Associate, Atlanta Center for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, Inc. 2004:724-735.

Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKena WG. Clinical Oncology. 3rd ed. Orlando, Fl: Churchill Livingstone; 2004:449-452.

Noble J. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2001:772-773.

Neville JA, Welch E, Leffell DJ. Management of nonmelanoma skin cancer in 2007. Nat Clin Pract Oncol. Aug. 2007: 4(8):462-9.

Eigentler TK, Kamin A, Weide BM, et al. A phase III, randomized, open label study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of imiquimod 5% cream applied thrice weekly for 8 and 12 weeks in the treatment of low-risk nodular basal cell carcinoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. Oct. 2007: 57(4): 616-21.

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