Basal-cell carcinoma.

N Engl J Med 2005;353:2262-9. Copyright © 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society. ccording to the american cancer society, skin cancer is the most common cancer, accounting for about half of all cancers in the United States. More than 1 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. 1 Basal-cell carcinomas constitute approximately 80 percent of all nonmelanoma skin cancers. This article addresses cutaneous basal-cell carcinoma, which should be differentiated from the uncommon basal-cell carcinoma or basaloid carcinoma that arises in sites such as the prostate, pancreas, lung, cervix, salivary gland, thymus, and anal canal.