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Basal cell carcinoma - Symptom

Alternative Names

Basal cell skin cancer; Rodent ulcer; Skin cancer - basal cell; Cancer - skin - basal cell; Nonmelanoma skin cancer; Basal cell NMSC

Symptoms:

Basal cell skin cancer grows slowly and is usually painless. It may not look that different from youur normal skin. You may have a 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
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 your doctor thinks you might have skin cancer, a piece of skin will be removed and sent to a lab for examination under a microscope. This is called a skin biopsy. There are different types of skin biopsies.

A skin biopsy must be done to confirm basal cell skin cancer or other skin cancers.

Reviewed last on: 7/26/2011
Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, 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

Basal cell and squamous cell cancers. NCCN Medical Practice Guidelines and Oncology.V.1.2009. Accessed July 15, 2009.

Neville JA, Welch E, Leffell DJ. Management of nonmelanoma skin cancer in 2007. Nat Clin Pract Oncol. 2007;4(8):462-469.

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. 2007;57(4):616-621.

Hexsel CL, Bangert SD, Hebert AA, et al. Current sunscreen issues. 2007 Food and Drug Administration sunscreen labelling recommendations and combination sunscreen/insect repellant products. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;59:316-323.

Lautenschlager S, Wulf HC, Pittelkow MR. Photoprotection. The Lancet [early online publication]. May 3, 2007.

Ridky TW. Nonmelanoma skin cancer. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007;57:484-501.

Wood GS, Gunkel J, Stewart D, et al. Nonmelanoma skin cancers: basal and squamous cell carcinomas. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone;2008:chap 74.

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