Systemic cytotoxic therapy of basal cell carcinoma. A review of the literature.

Fifty-five cases of systemic, cytotoxic therapy of patients with basal cell carcinoma have been reported in 53 patients in the English literature since the first report in 1960. Cytotoxic therapy without cis-platinum was used in 28 cases, resulting in only one partial response. On the contrary, 17 out of 22 evaluable patients (77%) responded to systemic treatment with cis-platinum-containing regimens. In 10 patients (45%) complete disappearance of the tumor was noted. These patients survived for a median time of more than 22 months (range 4+ to 51+ months). Although the experience is limited, the use of cis-platinum-containing regimens seems justified in the rare instances of metastatic disease, or when local treatment fails. When the primary tumor is very large, pretreatment with cis-platinum alone or in combination might be of value.