Epidemiological and Excision Margin Status of Basal Cell Carcinoma - Three Years Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Experience in Pakistan

Objective: The rationale of this study is to analyze the demographic distribution and clearance of excisionmargin in basal cell carcinoma among patients diagnosed at AFIP Rawalpindi. Materials and methods: Recordsof a total of 235 cases diagnosed from January 2005 to December 2007 were retrieved from our tumour registry.The following variables were recorded for each patient: age, gender, site of biopsy, type of biopsy (incisionalvs excisional), and status of clearance of surgical margins. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.0.
Results: Among the total of 235 cases, 125 (53.2%) were males and 110 (46.8%) were females (1.2:1). The agesranged from 32 to 90 years with mean age of 60.0 + 11.7, wih general age-dependent increase. The nose was themost frequent site (28.9%), followed by the eye including the orbit (24.7%), and the cheek (20.4%). Among thetype of biopsies, 140 (59.6%) were excisional and 95 (40.4%) were incisional (Figure 3). With the former, theexcision margins were reported as clear in 82 (34.9%) cases and involved in 55 (23.4%) cases.
Conclusion: Basalcell carcinoma (BCC) appears to be on the rise in our part of world. Careful clinical assessment, and completeexcision with the help of frozen sections can avoid recurrence.