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Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma: Causes and How to Overcome Them

Wednesday, October 19th 2022. | Skin Cancer

Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma usually requires surgery or radiation. However, this treatment should be avoided if the tumor is already very extensive, if it is located in such a negative way that there is a risk of traumatic mutilation due to the operation, or if organ functions are significantly impaired.

What Will You Read?

Cancer can attack the strongest organs, such as bones. It can also attack the largest organ in the body, the skin. Cancer that appears on the skin does not consist of just one type. There is a type called basal cell carcinoma. Want to know more about this disease? Go ahead and see the full review below!

Definition of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma is one of the most common and experienced types of skin cancer. This disease is most common in patients with malignant melanoma.

This disease begins in the basal cells of the skin, which are skin cells that produce new skin after the old skin dies. Advanced basal cell carcinoma usually appears as lumps on the skin in areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the head or neck.

Advanced basal cell carcinoma tends to grow slowly. It rarely spreads to other parts of the body. However, if left untreated for too long, this disease can develop and affect the condition of the problematic bones and tissues under the skin.

In addition, this condition must be treated thoroughly immediately. This is because if there is still cancer left in the skin during treatment, this disease can reappear in other parts of the skin.

It is suspected that this disease occurs due to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. To avoid this, you can protect your skin by using sunscreen every time you leave the house.

How Common is Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma?

Compared to malignant melanoma, advanced basal cell carcinoma disease is the most experienced by skin cancer patients. According to a study published in the Journal of General-Procedural of Dermatology and Venereology, people with this disease are mainly women over 60 years.

Signs and Symptoms of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

Although this disease often occurs on sun-exposed skin, this does not mean that Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma cannot appear on other areas of the skin. Yes, this disease can also appear in areas of the skin that are not even exposed to the sun at all, such as the genital or genital area.

Usually, this disease is characterized by skin changes that look like sores but do not heal. There are several characteristics of skin conditions that are symptoms of this skin cancer, namely:

Skin that becomes reddish, but the center appears sunken.
The appearance of scaly skin around or on the ear.
Wounds that cannot heal or, even if they heal, reappear. It usually bleeds, dries out, or peels off. They are often mistaken for acne.
Skin that appears dry in texture in the area of the irritated skin, usually reddish.
The presence of skin that grows the same color as the skin color is round.
Marks on the skin that look like scars, usually yellow or white. Usually, the color is somewhat shimmering, and the surrounding skin is stiff.

When Should I Seek Medical Attention?

If you experience one or more of the above symptoms, it never hurts to see a surgical oncologist immediately. Especially if you are unsure what has happened to the skin condition, your doctor will help you determine if it is skin cancer.

Causes of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

The cause of skin cancer is the appearance of DNA mutations in the skin’s basal cells. Usually, this condition occurs because the skin is exposed to too much ultraviolet (UV) light, damaging the DNA of the skin cells.

At first, the body will try to repair the DNA damage. However, gradually, the body can no longer make repairs, so DNA mutations occur.

Well, the job of these basal cells is to produce new skin cells when the old skin cells have died. The DNA present controls the process of forming new skin cells in the basal skin cells.

The DNA will instruct the cells to produce new skin cells and push the dead skin cells until they peel off and release from the body.

Unfortunately, when a DNA mutation occurs, there is also an error in the instructions given to the cell. Therefore, instead of allowing dead skin cells to escape, the DNA instructs the dead skin cells to continue to grow and multiply. The accumulation of abnormal cells eventually forms skin cancer.

Risk Factors for Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

As mentioned earlier, the cause of this disease is exposure to ultraviolet light. Several conditions can increase your risk of radiation exposure, as below.

1. Exposure to the sun

Consciously or unconsciously, when you are exposed to the sun too often, you are exposed to ultraviolet radiation. The risk increases if you spend a lot of time outdoors and do not use skin protection.

2. Age

This type of skin cancer takes years to form, so it’s not surprising that most people with basal cell carcinoma are older. However, this disease can also be experienced by young people, especially at 20-30.

3. Medical History

Both personal and family medical history can affect your potential to get this disease. For example, if you have experienced this condition before, you will likely encounter it again.

Meanwhile, your risk of developing a type of disease increases if you have a family medical history related to skin cancer.

4. Weak immune system

If your immune system is weak, your risk of developing basal cell carcinoma increases. Usually, the immune system becomes weaker after receiving an organ transplant. This is because the drugs that keep you from rejecting the new organ suppress the immune system.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your physician. If you are more sensitive to skin conditions, you will undoubtedly notice the changes that occur. Therefore, seek medical attention immediately if you experience any abnormal skin changes.

When examining the health of your skin, the doctor will usually check the patient’s medical history and ask questions about your daily life.

For example, the doctor may ask the following questions:

How often are you exposed to the sun?
How often are you exposed to various things that may increase your risk of skin cancer?
What was your and your family’s skin condition like before?
When did you first notice a change in your skin?
Have any marks or sores you found on the skin changed in shape or color?

After that, the doctor may do more skin tests and look for enlarged lymph nodes.

Suppose the doctor feels that a specific skin area needs to be examined more closely. In that case, they may perform a biopsy, which involves taking a skin sample for further examination.

What Are The Treatment Options for Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma?

Below are several treatment options for skin cancer.

1. Surgical Excision

Surgical excision is a procedure doctors perform by cutting and removing the area of skin affected by cancer and the surrounding skin.

The surrounding skin will be examined under a microscope to ensure it does not contain cancer cells. Usually, this medical procedure is recommended for basal cell carcinomas that form in areas such as the chest, back, hands, and feet.

2. Radiation therapy

This therapy is usually performed using high-energy rays such as X-rays and protons to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy is generally done in addition to surgery when there is a risk of cancer returning.

However, this therapy can also treat advanced basal cell carcinoma in patients who cannot have surgery.

3. Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy is a therapy that is specifically designed to prevent cancer cells from growing or spreading. Please contact your surgical oncologist for more information about this targeted therapy.

Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma Treatment at Home

There is no natural treatment that can cure this skin cancer. Therefore, you should always prioritize treating skin cancer at the doctor’s office. Check out the skincare products for skin cancer patients that can be used at home with the doctor.

Prevention of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

There are several ways to prevent this skin cancer, including:

Wear covered clothing, such as long sleeves and long pants. Wear sunglasses and a hat to protect the face and head if necessary.
Regularly check the skin independently, and if you find any irregularities on the skin, seek medical attention immediately.

End Words

This article contains information about Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma. We collect information from various reliable sources, both online media (websites, blogs, social media) and print media (books, newspaper articles).

Even so, it does not rule out the possibility of some information that does not match the facts. For this reason, do not use the information in this article as your primary reference, but always cross-check to compare some of the information that may be available.

You can find additional information about handling Basal Cell Carcinoma Nose in the article: Basal Cell Carcinoma Nose: Treat It Early Before It Gets Worse.

While complete and reliable information about Basal Cell Carcinoma can be traced on the skincancer(dot)org website at the following link: Basal Cell Carcinoma Overview.

Our message, make the information you get as additional knowledge only and not as a medical reference. For the best healing and treatment, visit a dermatologist to get treatment according to medical rules.

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