BACKGROUND

To minimize the risk of incomplete excision of basal cell carcinomas (BCC) the macroscopic tumor margins should be adequately defined. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging tool that can provide structural and vascular information about skin cancer lesions. The study objective was to compare the presurgical delineation of facial BCC by clinical examination, histopathology, and OCT imaging in tumors undergoing full excision.

METHODS

Ten patients with BCC lesions on the face were examined clinically, with OCT and histopathology at 3-mm intervals, from the clinical lesion border and beyond the resection line. The OCT scans were evaluated blinded and a delineation estimate of each BCC lesion was made. The results were compared to the clinical and histopathologic results.

RESULTS

OCT evaluations and histopathology were in agreement in 86.6% of the collected data points. In three cases the OCT scans estimated a reduction of the tumor size compared to the clinical tumor border set by the surgeon.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study support the notion that OCT can have a role in the clinical daily practice by aiding clinicians in delineating BCC lesions before surgery.