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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Basal cell carcinomas usually develop on sun-exposed parts of your body, especially your head and neck. A much smaller number occur on the trunk and legs. Yet basal cell carcinomas can also occur on parts of your body that are rarely exposed to sunlight.
Although a general warning sign of skin cancer is a sore that won't heal or that repeatedly bleeds and scabs over, basal cell cancer may look like:
- A pearly white or waxy bump, often with visible blood vessels on your face, ears or neck. The bump may bleed, develop a crust or form a depression in the center. In darker skinned people, this type of cancer is usually brown or black.
- A flat, scaly, brown or flesh-colored patch on your back or chest. Over time, these patches can grow quite large.
- More rarely, a white, waxy scar. This type of basal cell carcinoma is easy to overlook, but it may be a sign of a particularly invasive and disfiguring cancer called morpheaform basal cell carcinoma.
When to see a doctor
Some basal cell carcinomas may be difficult to distinguish from ordinary sores. See your dermatologist if you have:
- A skin sore that bleeds easily or doesn't heal in about two weeks
- A sore that repeatedly crusts or oozes
- Visible blood vessels in or around a sore
- A scar in an area where you haven't injured yourself
References
- Premalignant and malignant nonmelanoma skin tumors. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 5th ed. Edinburgh, U.K.; New York, N.Y.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..X0001-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed Jan. 14, 2011.
- Wood GS, et al. Nonmelanoma skin cancers: Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008:1253.
- Basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/nmsc.pdf. Accessed Jan. 14, 2011.
- What you need to know about melanoma and other skin cancers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin. Accessed Jan. 14, 2011.
- Basal cell carcinoma. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/sun_basal.html. Accessed Jan. 19, 2011.
- Skin cancer prevention (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/skin/Patient/. Accessed Jan. 14, 2011.
- What are basal and squamous cell skin cancers? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/SkinCancer-BasalandSquamousCell/DetailedGuide/skin-cancer-basal-and-squamous-cell-what-is-basal-and-squamous-cell. Accessed Jan. 19, 2011.
- ToxFAQx for arsenic. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=19&tid=3. Accessed Jan. 19, 2011.
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