Epidemiological and excision margin status of Basal cell carcinoma--three years Armed Forces Institute of Pathology experience in Pakistan.

Objective: The rationale of this study is to analyze the demographic distribution and clearance of excision margin in basal cell carcinoma among patients diagnosed at AFIP Rawalpindi.
Materials and Methods: Records of a total of 235 cases diagnosed from January 2005 to December 2007 were retrieved from our tumour registry. The following variables were recorded for each patient: age, gender, site of biopsy, type of biopsy (incisional vs excisional) and status of clearance of surgical margins. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.0.
Results: Among the total of 235 cases, 125 (53.2%) were males and 110 (46.8%) were females (1.2:1). The ages ranged from 32 to 90 years with mean age of 60.0 + 11.7, with a general age-dependent increase. The nose was the most frequent site (28.9%), followed by the eye, including the orbit (24.7%), and the cheek (20.4%). Among the type of biopsies, 140 (59.6%) were excisional and 95 (40.4%) were incisional. With the former, the excision margins were reported as clear in 82 (34.9%) cases and involved in 55 (23.4%) cases.
Conclusion: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) appears to be on the rise in our part of world. Careful clinical assessment, and complete excision with the help of frozen sections can avoid recurrence.