clinical features
Last reviewed 01/2018
- usually affects middle aged or elderly
- common sites are in scar tissue and sun damaged skin on the face, in a region above a line drawn between the corner of the mouth and the lobe of the ear
- the initial lesion is a small pearly-white nodule with visible (telangiectatic) blood vessels; early lesions may bleed and ulcerate and then heal again
- a red nodule forms which expands to leave a characteristic rolled edge with central ulceration ('rodent ulcer')
- 30% multiple
- invasion is usually local. Metastasis is rare - metastatic rate is 0.0028%