Juan Raul Castro-Ayarza; Luisa Fernanda Montenegro
Abstract
Background: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) represents nearly 80% ofcutaneous malignancies. Dermoscopy is a useful tool to increasethe precision of diagnosis, but its findings for BCC are mainlydescribed in patients from Europe, the US, and Australia. BCCdermoscopy patterns are not fully known in patients ...
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Background: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) represents nearly 80% ofcutaneous malignancies. Dermoscopy is a useful tool to increasethe precision of diagnosis, but its findings for BCC are mainlydescribed in patients from Europe, the US, and Australia. BCCdermoscopy patterns are not fully known in patients with skinphoto-types III and IV in Latin America, especially in Colombia.We aimed to describe dermoscopy findings in patients with BCCand III-IV Fitzpatrick skin types in a Colombian population.Methods: A descriptive, retrospective and prospectiveobservational study was carried out on patients with BCC.Clinical and dermoscopy photos were taken, with the diagnosisconfirmed via histopathology.Results: Thirty-six tumors were evaluated. Women were moreaffected. The main BCC feature was a nodular clinical andhistological subtype. The more frequent dermoscopy findingswere arboriform microvessels, thin telangiectasias, and multiplegray-blue globules. Tumors greater than 6 mm predominantlyshowed ulceration and polymorphic vessels. The presence ofovoid nests, structures in maple leaves, and polymorphic vesselswere related to the superficial clinical subtype.Conclusions: Different features related to size, clinical pattern, andthe presence of vascular and pigmentary changes in dermoscopywere present in this population. A new dermoscopy finding ofa yellowish type “amber background” in BCC was described.
