Treatment of basal cell carcinoma - basic methods

Tumor of the skin - basal cell - is one of the cancer diseases and got its name because of the superficial, basal cell layer. Its main difference from malignant formations is that it practically does not give metastasis. Scientific research has revealed that this disease is highly susceptible to representatives of the European race - the owners of dark skin, it practically does not threaten.

Basaloma is one of the most common types of cancer in Europe, the United States and Australia. However, disease statistics on these continents vary. For example, in the same England, on average, it is 90 patients per 100 000 people per year. And in Australia, it is most often affected by men - 336 cases per hundred thousand, while women suffer it in the proportion of 251 per 100 000.

Risk factors

The main risk factors of basaloma include sensitivity to ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, genetic predisposition, prolonged exposure to the sun, exposure to high temperatures, weak immunity. And although the risk of the disease increases in people with age, especially after 50-55 years, doctors recommend the use of preventive measures, starting with childhood, in particular, to monitor the moderate presence of children in the sun.

Particular attention should be paid to this issue by people with skin types I and II, that is, one that always burns and very rarely or never tans, as well as people with skin pigmentation and albinos. In addition, in the first three years after treatment, there is a chance of recurrence.

In a disease such as basal cell, treatment can be of a very diverse nature, from radiation therapy to surgery, and is selected according to the individual case. Factors such as the location and size of the tumor, its morphological appearance and the degree of germination in neighboring tissues, as well as the age of the patient, the history of his illness, the general state of health and the presence of concomitant diseases are taken into account.

Basaloma: treatment methods

The most prone areas of the disease are open face skin, head and neck. Very rarely basal cell spreads to other parts of the body, although in the absence of proper care it has the ability to germinate into neighboring tissues. The choice of method of treatment is individual, but all of them are highly effective, and the probability of reappearance varies between 5% and 15%, depending on the degree of the disease and the tumor itself.

Surgical treatment of basal cell carcinoma

This method can be attributed to the most common. However, there are several of its varieties. At a small size, basilioma treatment is carried out by such methods as curettage (tumor scraping) and fulguration. It is important that the tumor is located in an easily accessible place. But in the vast majority of cases, excision (removal) of the basal cell with a small adjoining skin area is recommended - the effectiveness of this method is about 90%.

The best result is demonstrated by microsurgical excision. This method is especially effective in the treatment of large tumors with fuzzy boundaries, as well as in cases where the neoplasm is located in hard-to-reach places - such as the nose, ears, eyelid, forehead. It is also used in the re-emergence of the disease. It should be borne in mind that this surgical treatment of basal cell is more complicated than the rest and, accordingly, expensive.

Radiation treatment of basal cell carcinoma

For patients who are severely suffering surgical removal of basal cell carcinoma, radiotherapy can be a method of treatment . This method is also preferred for tumors located on the eyelids, nose and in the auricle. Sometimes it is used after surgery, if the doctor does not have confidence that the basal cell is completely removed.

When using this method in anesthesia is usually not necessary. However, treatment may require a repeat procedure and be delayed by one or more weeks. In addition, this technology can sometimes cause cosmetic problems, so it is especially not recommended for young patients.

Photodynamic therapy in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma

Basaloma, the treatment of which is determined strictly individually, can be removed with the help of such a modern method as photodynamic therapy. In contrast to irradiation, it avoids long-term cosmetic problems and is recommended for use in cases where the treatment performed earlier did not yield the expected result, as well as with inconvenient tumor localization and extensive lesion area.

In addition to the above, there are other treatments for basal cell carcinoma. These include laser therapy, cryodestruction with liquid nitrogen, combined and medicinal methods. The latter is most suitable for patients with a superficial tumor that has not yet hit the deep layers beneath the skin. The best way, of course, will prompt a specialist.