Current Perspectives in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

Neha Gupta, Emily S Ruiz Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Jamaica Plain, MA, USACorrespondence: Emily S RuizDepartment of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1153 Centre Street, Suite 4J, Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130, USATel +1 617-983-4626Fax +1 617-983-4504Email esruiz@bwh.harvard.eduAbstract: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in Caucasians, and its incidence continues to rise. Generally, BCCs have good outcomes when diagnosed and treated early. However, 1– 10% of patients will develop advanced disease due to either delays in accessing treatment or aggressive tumors that may be refractory to treatment. Locally advanced basal cell carcinomas (laBCCs) are large, aggressive, or recurrent tumors that have the potential to invade surrounding tissues including bone, cartilage, nerve, and muscle. Treatment requires a multi-disciplinary approach where different modalities including surgery, radiation therapy, Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitors, and immunotherapy can be considered.Keywords: hedgehog pathway inhibitors, surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, skin cancer