basal cell carcinoma

(noun)

A skin cancer, and the most common cancer although it rarely metastasizes or kills. However, because it can cause significant destruction and disfigurement by invading surrounding tissues, it is still considered malignant.

Related Terms

Examples of basal cell carcinoma in the following topics:

  • Skin Cancer

    • The three main types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (the most common of all cancers), squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
    • Each type is named after the skin cell from which it arises.
    • Basal cell carcinoma usually presents as a raised, smooth, pearly bump on the sun-exposed skin of the head, neck, or shoulders.
    • Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is commonly a red, scaling, thickened patch on sun-exposed skin.
    • The mortality rate of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma is around 0.3%, causing two thousand deaths per year in the U.S.

  • Sun Damage, Sunscreen, and Sunblock

    • The use of sunscreen is known to prevent the direct DNA damage that causes sunburn and the two most common forms of skin cancer, basal-cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

  • Effects of Aging on the Integumentary System

    • In younger skin, sun damage will heal faster since the cells in the epidermis have a faster turnover rate, while in the older population the skin becomes thinner and the epidermis turnover rate for cell repair is lower which may result in the dermis layer being damaged.

  • Immunotherapy for Cancer

    • Cell-based immunotherapy is another major entity of cancer immunotherapy.
    • This involves immune cells such as the natural killer cells (NK cells), lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK cells), cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and dendritic cells (DC).
    • Adoptive cell-based immunotherapy involves isolating either allogenic or autologous immune cells, enriching them outside the body, and transfusing them back to the patient.
    • The injected immune cells are highly cytotoxic to the cancer cells and so help to fight them.
    • Topical immunotherapy utilizes an immune enhancement cream (imiquimod), which is an interferon producer, causing the patient's own killer T cells to destroy warts, actinic keratoses, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, cutaneous T cell lymphoma, and superficial spreading melanoma.

  • Basement Membranes and Diseases

    • This is achieved by cell-matrix adhesions through substrate adhesion molecules (SAMs).
    • The basement membrane also acts as a mechanical barrier, preventing malignant cells from invading the deeper tissues.
    • Early stages of malignancy that are thus limited to the epithelial layer by the basement membrane are called carcinoma in situ.
    • Basement membrane proteins have been found to accelerate differentiation of endothelial cells.
    • It is caused by a mutation in the integrin α6β4 cell-adhesion molecule on either the alpha or beta subunit.

  • Basal Ganglia

    • The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei, ) are a group of nuclei of varied origin in the brains of vertebrates that act as a cohesive functional unit.
    • The most notable are Parkinson's disease, which involves degeneration of the melanin-pigmented dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), and Huntington's disease, which primarily involves damage to the striatum.
    • Two schematic drawings of coronal sections of human brain labelling the basal ganglia.
    • The basal nuclei are often referred to as the basal ganglia.
    • The main components of the basal nuclei are labeled in purple.

  • Metastasis Through Lymphatic Vessels

    • This is the most common route of metastasis for carcinomas.
    • This is the most common route of metastasis for carcinomas.
    • Haematogenous spread: This is typical route of metastasis for sarcomas, but it is also the favored route for certain types of carcinoma, (e.g., renal cell carcinoma).
    • Micrograph showing a lymph node invaded by ductal breast carcinoma and with extranodal extension of tumour.
    • Surrounding the lymphocytes and extending into the surrounding fat (top of image) is ductal breast carcinoma.

  • Lung Cancer

    • Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary lung cancers, are carcinomas that derive from epithelial cells.
    • The main types of lung cancer are small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), also called oat cell cancer, and non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).
    • There are three main sub-types: squamous cell lung carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell lung carcinoma.
    • Accounting for 25% of lung cancers, squamous cell lung carcinoma usually starts near a central bronchus.
    • Damage to chromosomes 3p, 5q, 13q, and 17p are particularly common in small-cell lung carcinoma.

  • Disorders of the Basal Ganglia

    • Basal ganglia disease refers to physical dysfunctions that occur when basal ganglia fail to suppress unwanted movements.
    • An example of a hypokinetic basal ganglia disease is Parkinsonism.
    • The basal ganglia is a collective group of structures in the brain .
    • Since the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) is the link in the circuit between the STN and thalamic projection, destruction of localized brain cells in the GPi via a pallidotony has proven to serve as a useful treatment for Hemiballismus.
    • This is a diagram of the main circuits of the basal ganglia.

  • The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Movement

    • The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) are a group of nuclei of varied origin in the brains of vertebrates that act as a cohesive functional unit.
    • Currently popular theories hold that the basal ganglia play a primary role in action selection.
    • Parkinson's disease involves major loss of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra.
    • Although cholinergic cells make up only a small fraction of the total population, the striatum has one of the highest acetylcholine concentrations of any brain structure.
    • This diagram shows the main circuits of the basal ganglia.