Clinical and histopathological characteristics of primary and recurrent basal cell carcinoma: a retrospective study of the patients from a tertiary clinical centre in the northern Poland

INTRODUCTION: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the skin. Management of patients with recurrent BCC remains a current clinical issue. Data concerning BCC recurrence rates as well as characteristics of this group of patients in the Polish population are scarce. AIM: Identification and analysis of clinical, epidemiological and histopathological factors influencing BCC recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Histopathological diagnoses of BCC patients treated by surgical methods at the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Medical University of Gdansk, between 2013 and 2018, were retrospectively analysed. The analysis included 1097 tumours diagnosed in 802 patients, of which 1061 were primary BCC (pBCC) and 36 – recurring BCC (rBCC). RESULTS: In the analysed cohort, rBCCs constituted 3.3% of cases. 49.8% of pBCCs occurred in women; while in the rBCC group – 47.2%. The most common histopathological type was infiltrative BCC, however, it was significantly more prevalent in rBCCs (36.9% and 52.8%, respectively). The average maximum size of pBCC was 12.3 ±8.8 mm, while of rBCC 18.4 ±15.1 mm (p = 0.036). The most common location of both pBCC and rBCC was the nose (tumours in this localization constituted 23.2% and 25.0%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In the analysed cohort a relatively low percentage of rBCC was found. Among analysed risk factors, the most important ones were the infiltrative histopathological type of BCC and the non-radical treatment of the primary tumour.