Comparison of Demographic and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Basal Cell Carcinoma on the Nose and Other Sites of the Face: A Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: The clinicopathological characteristics of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in different areas of the face, including the nose, are important and may be different. Accurate recognition of these characteristics may be necessary for the planning and selection of appropriate treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 328 patients (131 females and 197 males) with 371 documented facial BCC in the West of Iran within 2013-2018. The demographic and clinicopathological data of the patients in the nose area were compared with other sites of the face by appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS: Out of 371 lesions, 38.8% of the cases were on the nose, 75.8% were primary lesions, 97.8% had no perineural invasion, 89.2% were nodular, and 65.8% were of nodular clinical and pathologic type, which were the most common variables of patients. It was revealed that early-onset (P<0.001), smaller size (P<0.001), high-risk pathologic type (P=0.01), and recurrent lesions (P=0.013) were significantly higher in the nasal BCC. However, there was no significant difference between BCC in the nose and other sites of the face in terms of gender (P=0.654), high-risk clinical type (P=0.06), and perineural invasion (P=0.275). CONCLUSION: Considering the nasal site as an important cosmetic unit, more limitation of the nose in performing any procedure, and presence of the more risk factors in the nose than in other areas of the face, the definite treatment of nasal BCC requires special attention, expertise, and experience.