Histologic Subtypes of Cutaneous Basal Cell Carcinoma Diagnosed in Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria

The most prevalent malignant tumor in humans is basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and its frequency has been rising over time. This study examined the histological subtypes of cutaneous BCC identified at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Nigeria. The study examined the histological subtypes of cutaneous BCC using a cross-sectional retrospective 7-year hospital-based approach. Out of 150 instances of cutaneous malignancies, a total of 42 (28%) cases of BCC were diagnosed. According to body regions, the head and neck account for 30 cases (71.4%), followed by the body (trunk) with 8 (19.0%), and the extremities with 4 cases (9.5%). Of the 42 BCC cases, 29 (69.0%) were detected in females, and 13 (31.0%) in men. The age group with the largest BCC occurrence was 50–59 years old (16 cases, or 38.1%), whereas the age group with the lowest incidence was 70–79 years old (1 case, or 2.4%). There were 17 nodular subtypes (40.5%), 9 superficial subtypes (21.4%), and 7 basosquamous subtypes (16.7%) of BCC detected. Infiltrating and morpheaform variants had 5 instances (11.9%) and 4 cases (9.5%), respectively. The data obtained from this study about the prevalence of BCC subtypes in the hospital may serve as a roadmap for future investigations into BCC management.

Key Words: cutaneous basal cell carcinoma, histological subtypes, nodular, superficial, squamous, infiltrating and morpheaform variants