Clinical Characteristics of Basal Cell Carcinomas of the Scrotum: An Institutional Retrospective Review

Abstract

Objective. To analyse the clinical and pathologic features, discuss therapeutic strategies, and possibly cause and identify prognostic factors of scrotal basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in Chinese patients. Materials and Methods. Between January 2012 and December 2022, 12 patients with scrotal BCC were diagnosed and treated at our institution. A review was conducted based on the clinical characteristics, pathology slides, and tissues of these patients. Results. The median patient age was 69.26 ± 11.23 years. The skin lesions presented as red papules, blue-grey polypoid nodules, erythematous patches, brownish plaques, and so on. All patients were treated using wide excision, but the margins varied from 0.5 cm to 2 cm. HPV infection was checked in all lesions, with 4 out of 12 testing positive for P16 and 1 for HPV16 DNA. We found mottled positive expression of P16 in the cytoplasm and membrane. One patient developed left inguinal lymph node metastasis and was successfully treated using bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy. The rest recovered well without relapse. Conclusions. BCC of the scrotum is rare, but long-term surveillance is recommended for BCC patients, and whether genital HPV infection is a noteworthy feature for these patients remains under investigation.