Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2023; 11(7): 1488-1497
Published online Mar 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i7.1488
Facial basal cell carcinoma: A retrospective study of 67 cases
Afrah A Khalil, Hamid H Enezei, Tahrir N Aldelaimi, Raid M Al-Ani
Afrah A Khalil, Department of Oral Diagnosis, College of Dentistry, University of Anbar, Ramadi 31001, Anbar, Iraq
Hamid H Enezei, Tahrir N Aldelaimi, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, University of Anbar, Ramadi 31001, Anbar, Iraq
Raid M Al-Ani, Department of Surgery/Otolaryngology, University of Anbar, College of Medicine, Ramadi 31001, Anbar, Iraq
Author contributions: Al-Ani RM has the responsibility for the design of the study, writing the abstract, core tip, introduction, and conclusion, writing the references according to the journal style, and edited the draft and preparing the final version of the manuscript; Khalil AA is responsible for collecting the references and writing the methodology section; Enezei HH wrote the results section; Aldelaimi TN wrote the discussion section; All authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013) and was approved by the Ethical Approval Committee of the University of Anbar (Reference number 4, on 24-1-2021).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets analyzed during the current study are available in the hospital’s “sheet patient records” and from the corresponding author at med.raed.alani2003@uoanbar.edu.iq upon reasonable request.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Raid M Al-Ani, MBChB, Academic Research, Full Professor, Senior Editor, Surgeon, Department of Surgery/Otolaryngology, University of Anbar, College of Medicine, Al Andalus-Street number 41, Ramadi 31001, Anbar, Iraq. med.raed.alani2003@uoanbar.edu.iq
Received: December 13, 2022
Peer-review started: December 13, 2022
First decision: January 3, 2023
Revised: January 4, 2023
Accepted: February 15, 2023
Article in press: February 15, 2023
Published online: March 6, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is considered the most frequent skin tumor. It is mostly affected adults and occurred exclusively on the skin of facial hair-bearing. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for these lesions. Different lasers were used for the treatment of facial BCC with different cure rates.

Research motivation

With this retrospective study, we aimed to analyze the various features of facial BCC as well as to assess the benefits and risks of diode lasers in the treatment of these lesions.

Research objectives

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate various demographic, clinical, and pathological characteristics of facial BCC and assessment of the diode laser outcome in the treatment of these tumors.

Research methods

In the current retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of 67 patients with small facial BCC (< 1.5 cm in diameter) and subjected them to treatment with diode laser ablation. The study covered 5 years. Detailed information regarding the demographic, clinical, and pathological features of the tumor for each subject was recorded. The outcome following treatment regarding the functional and aesthetic results and any complications were registered too.

Research results

The majority of the cases (65.67%) belonged to the age group ≥ 60 years. About 60% were men. The mean duration of the tumors was 5.15 mo. The nose was the most commonly affected site. The noduloulcerative form was seen in about 50% of the patients. The solid histological form was seen in 40.3% of the subjects. Besides, 65.2% of the solid lesions were seen in the age group ≤ 60 years and 38.6% of the adenoid form in the age group older than 60 years (P value < 0.05). Following a six months follow-up, excellent outcomes were reported regarding the function and shape of the involved site in all patients. Postoperative pain was the most frequent complication after diode laser ablation.

Research conclusions

Facial BCC was seen more in patients older than 60 years and males. The mean duration of the tumors was 5.15 mo. The nose was the most commonest affected site. Noduloulcerative type was seen in approximately 50% of the cases. The age of the patients might determine the histological type of the lesion (solid type was mostly seen in the age group equal to or less than 60 years, while, adenoid type was in the age group more than 60 years). Diode laser ablation is effective and safe in the management of facial BCC.

Research perspectives

We believe that future investigations with many patients and longer follow-ups will validate these results. Besides, further studies are necessary for the comparison the diode laser ablation with other modalities in the management of BCC.