This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The development of a basal cell carcinoma appears to be mainly related to sunlight exposure.

Lesions occur in exposed areas of the skin (75% occur in the head and neck), and the incidence is increased in parts of the world with increased sunlight. Similarly there is an increased incidence in Caucasians, whose skin is perhaps least protected against the harmful affects of the sun.

Basal cell carcinomas may also arise in association with Gorlin's syndrome. Patients with this condition appear to have a great tendency to develop basal cell epitheliomata.

  • an autosomal (non-sex determining chromosome) dominantly inherited condition characterised by developmental abnormalities and the occurrence of multiple BCCs
    • mutations in people with Gorlin syndrome have been found on the PTCH1 gene located on chromosome nine, which appears to
      be crucial for proper embryonic development and for tumour suppression (1)

Reference:

  • Johnson RL et al. Human homolog of patched, a candidate gene for the basal cell nevus syndrome. Science 1996;272(5268):1668-71

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.