Insight into the pathogenesis of sporadic basal cell carcinoma.

Sporadic basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the commonest human cancer. Although its aggressiveness is low and metastatic potential negligible, the increasing incidence of the tumor in the Western world drives attention to its pathogenesis. In 1996, germ-line mutations in the patched receptor of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway were described in the Gorlin-Goltz syndrome in association with multiple nevoid BCCs. Later, the aberrant activation of the Shh was identified in sporadic BCCs as well. Recently, the role of other tumor suppressors and DNA repair gene mutations and their relationship with UV radiation-induced DNA damage have been elucidated.