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Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Orbit and Ocular Adnexa, Cytological Findings

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Cytopathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 113 Accesses

Synonyms

BCC

Definition

Non-melanocytic skin tumor that arises from epidermal basal cell.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    The most frequent malignant skin tumor.

  • Age

    Middle-old age

  • Sex

    No gender predilection

  • Site

    Head and neck; eyelid

  • Treatment

    Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy

  • Outcome

    Favorable. BCCs rarely metastasize, but grow slowly, eroding surrounding tissues, proximal structures, and even the globe.

Macroscopy

BCC arises as a single lesion after prolonged exposure to sunlight or as multiple lesions in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum. The clinical presentation of BCC may be nodular and/or ulcerative or sclerosing (morphea type).

Microscopy

Adequate scraping should reach the dermis. Smears generally show dense compact cell groups in which, often, cytological details can be observed only at the edges of fragments. Here, the nuclei may be organized in regular lines, perpendicular to the group, producing a “picket fence pattern.” Cells are poorly differentiated with scanty or...

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References and Further Reading

  • Das, D. K. (2007). Fine needle aspiration cytology diagnosis of lymphoid lesions of the orbit. Acta Cytologica, 51, 367–369.

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  • Glasgow, B. J., & Foos, R. Y. (1993). Ocular cytopathology. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann ED.

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  • Koss, L. G. (2006). The eyelids, orbit and eye. In Koss’ diagnostic cytology (5th ed., pp. 1508–1522). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nassar, D. L., Raab, S. S., Silverman, J. F., Kennerdell, J. S., & Sturgis, C. D. (2000). Fine-needle aspiration for the diagnosis of orbital hematolymphoid lesions. Diagnostic Cytopathology, 23, 314–317.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rastogi, A., & Jain, S. (2001). Fine needle aspiration biopsy in orbital lesions. Orbit, 20, 11–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D. L., Mandell, D. B., & Glasgow, B. J. (1991). Eye. In M. Bibbo (Ed.), Comprehensive cytopathology (pp. 484–501). Philadelphia: WB Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturgis, C. D., Silverman, J. F., Kennerdell, J. S., & Raab, S. S. (2001). Fine-needle aspiration for the diagnosis of primary epithelial tumors of the lacrimal gland and ocular adnexa. Diagnostic Cytopathology, 24, 86–89.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zeppa, P., & Palombini, L. (2010). The eye, orbit and ocular adnexa. In W. Grey & G. Kocjan (Eds.), Diagnostic cytopathology (3rd ed., pp. 911–923). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

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  • Zeppa, P., Tranfa, F., Errico, M. E., Troncone, G., Fulciniti, F., Vetrani, A., Bonavolontà, G., & Palombini, L. (1997). Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of orbital masses: a critical review of 51 cases. Cytopathology, 8, 366–372.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Pathology, University of Salerno (IT), Salerno, Italy

    Pio Zeppa

  2. Department of Biomedical Advanced Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

    Elena Vigliar

Authors
  1. Pio Zeppa
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  2. Elena Vigliar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pio Zeppa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire national de santé, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

    Fernando Schmitt

  2. Medical Faculty of Porto University and IPATIMUP, Porto, Portugal

    Fernando Schmitt

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Zeppa, P., Vigliar, E. (2017). Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Orbit and Ocular Adnexa, Cytological Findings. In: Schmitt, F. (eds) Cytopathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33286-4_2799

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33286-4_2799

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33285-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33286-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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