Original articleDermoscopic features of basal cell carcinoma and its subtypes: A systematic review
Section snippets
Methods
A systematic review of the literature was conducted and reported in concordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.8
Results
Our search yielded 1412 records (Fig 1). Included in the review were 31 studies, consisting of 5950 BCCs, that fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Some lesions were reported solely as BCCs without further details, and others had additional information, including the histopathologic subtype or pigmentation status. Only one study11 provided data on both the histopathologic subtype and the pigmentation status of the lesions, prohibiting analysis of both parameters combined. Individual studies
Discussion
The aims of this report were to systematically review the evidence for the prevalence of dermoscopic structures among BCC and its clinical (pigmented vs nonpigmented) and histopathologic subtypes and to investigate whether these structures can differentiate between the subtypes.
There was neither a single dermoscopic structure that appeared in all BCC lesions nor a structure exclusive for a specific BCC subtype. The most prominent features for the diagnosis of BCC seem to be blood vessels,
Conclusion
It comes as no surprise that arborizing blood vessels, which are the most well-known characteristic of BCC, are also its most common dermoscopic feature. However, shiny white structures, which are not as well known, were the second most common feature of BCC. Frequencies of dermoscopic features differ between BCC histopathologic subtypes, and the constellation of features may aid in the diagnosis: nBCC is associated with arborizing vessels, ulceration, and blue-grey ovoid nests and globules;
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Funding sources: None.
Conflicts of interest: None disclosed.
IRB approval status: Not applicable.
Reprints not available from the authors.