Epidemiology and aetiology of basal cell carcinoma

Abstract
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a malignant epithelial neoplasm of the skin preferentially affecting male caucasians and is rarely observed in patients with more intense skin pigmentation. A characteristic feature of BCCs are their extremely low risk to metastasize. Epidemiological data indicate that the overall incidence is increasing worldwide significantly by about 3–10% per annum. 1-3 Based on the increasing incidence of this usually not life‐threatening tumour BCC appears to develop into a growing public health problem. This review elucidates the risk factors for the development and for the progression of BCC leading to an improved understanding of this tumour.

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