The value of typing basal cell carcinomas in predicting recurrence after surgical excision.

A classification, based on growth pattern was devised and applied to 156 basal cell carcinomas from 134 patients. The tumours were divided into four main groups; (I) nodular; (2) nodular with infiltrative margin; (3) infiltrative; (4) multifocal. The infiltrative and multifocal types exhibited a high rate of recurrence following surgical excision whereas recurrence of nodular tumours was much rarer. It is therefore suggested that growth pattern should always be stated in the routine histopathological reporting of these neoplasms. Other features were studied and found to have no prognostic value. These included the various types of epithelial differentiation and such stromal factors as the degree of lymphocyte and plasma cell infiltration and the presence of amyloid or elastic fibres.