Clinical Toolkit
Introduction
Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) commonly appear on sun-exposed areas of the body such as the head and neck. Individuals with fair hair, skin, and eye color who have received too much exposure to the sun are at increased risk for BCC. Additionally, individuals with non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) were typically older than those diagnosed with melanoma. The high and increasing BCC incidence, the decreasing age at first BCC, and the high occurrence of multiple BCCs heightens the need for both prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Epidemiologic data suggest a strong link between NMSCs and the immune system. Immunosuppression is widely recognized as a risk factor for the development of NMSCs, and the increasing use of therapeutic immunosuppression is most likely contributing to the increasing incidence of NMSCs. Among patients who have had solid organ transplants the incidence of BCC is estimated to be 5- to 10-fold higher than in the general population. Additional evidence of this link is that NMSCs sometimes regress after improvement in immune function, further underscoring the importance of immune surveillance in their pathogenesis.
