Radiotherapy for Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma accounts for up to 80% of all non-melanoma skin cancers and is the most common cancer in the world. The primary aim of treatment for basal cell carcinomas is local control, as regional and distant spread is very rare. Although surgery remains the preferred modality for definitive treatment at most centers, radiotherapy is frequently considered for those patients who are medically inoperable and who have unresectable tumors or for those who decline surgery. Other relative indications for radiotherapy include cases where it would be difficult to achieve clear surgical margins and where surgery would result in unacceptable functional or cosmetic morbidity.