Comparative study of dermatoscopic and histopathologic results in facial basal cell carcinoma and melanocytic nevi

Abstract

Background: Dermatoscopy can be applied to diagnose pigmented skin lesions. The aim of the present study was to compare dermatoscopic and histopathologic results in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and melanocytic nevus of theface. Materials and Methods: In an analytical-descriptive study, 61 patients suspected of BCC or melanocytic nevi of face were randomly selected. The skin lesions of patients were evaluated with dermatoscopic method from February 2012 to February 2014 and results were compared with pathological features of samples. Results: In this study, mean age of patients was 49.5±18.9. Some 25 (41%) were men and 36 (59%) were women. In 27 cases (44.3%) there was diagnosis of melanocytic nevus, in 28 cases (45.9%) diagnosis of BCC, and in 3 cases (4.9%) there was mixed diagnosis. The relationship between patients' gender and dermatoscopic diagnosis of the patients was statistically significant (P=0.001). For BCC the sensitivity and specificity of dermatoscopic method were 100% and 97% respectively and for melanocytic nevi 96.4% and 97%. Conclusions: Dermatoscopic study not only can be helpful in improving clinical diagnosis while guiding missed malignant lesions to pathologic evaluations, but also could be useful in evaluating further suspicious or recurrent cases.