Basal Cell Carcinoma with Sebaceous Differentiation: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Abstract

We report a very rare type of tumor in the left nasal ala in an elderly patient. An 81-year-old Saudi woman known to have hypertension, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid disease (who had been compliant to her medications) presented with a 0.5-cm fixed, firm, round well-defined nodule on the left ala of the nose (with crusting, erosion, and telangiectasia of the overlying skin), whose size had been gradually increasing for 2 years. The patient underwent excisional biopsy, and the specimen was sent for a histopathologic analysis. Macroscopic examination showed a round tan-white homogenous nodule, measuring 0.6 × 0.5 × 0.5 cm3. Microscopic examination revealed a fairly circumscribed unencapsulated dermal lesion, featuring basaloid cells with peripheral palisading, and focal stromal clefting. The final diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma with sebaceous differentiation was made. The patient was managed with Mohs surgery with clear margins, and full-thickness skin graft was done. Four months after surgery, the patient had a recurrence, which was managed with a surgical excision (with 4-mm margin) and covered by a full-thickness skin graft.