BACKGROUNDThe clinical and histopathological characteristics of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) have been relatively well studied in Caucasian population. To characterize BCC in Chinese population, we analyzed the association of the histopathological subtypes with gender, age and anatomical location in this study.

METHODSThe clinical and histopathological data of 243 BCC cases diagnosed at three hospitals in Beijing from January 2000 to April 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Gender, age, location and histopathological subtype were analyzed.

RESULTSAmong 243 patients enrolled, 118 were males and 125 were females. The male/female ratio was 0.94:1. The mean age was (65.16 ± 12.62) years old. The head and neck were the most common sites of BCC (77.4%). Of the BCCs, 53.9% were nodular, 18.9% superficial and 18.5% infiltrative-morphoeic. The nodular, infiltrative-morphoeic and micronodular subtypes were predominant located on the head and neck, whereas the trunk was the most common location for the superficial subtype (P < 0.05). The age at first presentation for females was lower than that for males (P < 0.05). The age at first presentation for the superficial BCCs was younger than the non-superficial subtypes (P < 0.05). Women with superficial BCC subtype visited hospital earlier than men (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSConsistent with previous reports in Caucasian patient, our study find that different histopathological subtypes of BCC has distinct clinical features. It is speculated that the mechanisms underlining the pathogenesis of the superficial BCC may be different than those of non-superficial subtypes of BCC.