Comparison of treatment modalities for recurrent basal cell carcinoma.

We studied 97 patients with recurrent basal cell carcinomas; 20 were treated by surgery, 35 by radiation, 40 with chemosurgery, and two patients had no treatment (because their lesions were too far advanced). There was a treatment failure rate of 11 percent for radiation therapy, 12 percent for chemosurgery and 5 percent for surgical excision. Recurrent BCC requires a careful selection of the mode of therapy, aggressive treatment, and careful long-term follow-up. Using these principles, an excellent cure rate can be achieved by all the 3 modes of therapy included in this report.