ABSTRACT
Basal cell carcinomas are slow-growing malignant skin tumors which have traditionally been successfully treated by curettage and electrodesiccation. Curettage and electrodesiccation is traditionally repeated two or three times, but there are no previous studies documenting the value for the repetitions. This study compares the efficacy of curettage and desiccation once and three times in removing basal cell tumors. The results suggest that these neoplasms have two distinct growth patterns. One is more invasive and incompletely removed by curettage-desiccation. The second pattern is removed by a single cycle of curettage and desiccation. It is hypothesized, based on a review of pertinent literature, that these growth patterns are related to immunologic interaction with tumor cells.
