Basal Cell Carcinoma
Basal cell carcinoma accounts for 70 to 80 percent of the nonmelanoma skin cancers in the United States. Usually easily treatable, these common cancers often occur on areas of the skin that have been in the sun.
Basal cell carcinomas rarely spread to other areas of the body. However, these tumors may invade the surrounding tissues causing significant destruction. Therefore, these tumors must be treated when found.
About Basal Cell Carcinomas
These tumors develop in the deepest part of the top layer of the skin. Often this cancer appears as a small, fleshy bump or nodule on the head, neck or hands. Sometimes the nodules are flat growths that appear on the trunk of the body.
Basal Cell Carcinoma Treatment
University of Maryland Medical Center's team of skin cancer doctors screen, diagnose and treat patients with or at risk for this type of cancer. Learn more about:
Growth and Prognosis
Fairly easy for board-certified dermatologists to detect, this cancer grows very slowly. It may take months or years for a tumor to reach a half-inch diameter.
Basal cell cancers usually do not spread to other parts of the body, but they sometimes spread to tissues around the cancer. They can extend below the skin to the bone and can cause considerable local damage as a result.
When this cancer is properly treated, the relative five-year survival rate is more than 99 percent.
For more information or to make an appointment with one of our specialists, please call 667-214-1195.
