Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Nipple-areola Complex: A Case Report

• Main Authors: Ching-Wen Huang, Ching-Kuen Pan, Chung-Chou Juan, Chen-Guo Ker
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2005-10-01
• Series: Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
• Subjects: basal cell carcinoma; nipple-areola complex; mastectomy; sentinel lymph node
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X0970155X

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the nipple-areola complex is very rare. Only 24 cases were reported in the literature and 17 (70.8%) of these cases arose in men. Most of the cases were treated with simple excision. We report on a case of BCC of the nipple-areola complex in a 46-year-old woman, treated with partial mastectomy. Metastasis to the axillary lymph nodes had been noted in 3 (12.5%) of the 24 reported cases of BCC of the nipple-areola complex. Thus, we applied the concept of the sentinel lymph node to detect possible metastases of axillary lymph nodes, letting us avoid the unnecessary axillary lymph node dissection and possible future morbidity.