Background/aim: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer in the white population. Increasing incidence of BCC imposes the requirement to indentify the risk factors due to eventual preventive action. The aim of this study was to assess the role of some constitutional characteristics in development of BCC among the Montenegrian population.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted at the Dermatology Department of Clinical Center of Montenegro in Podgorica from 2002-2003. The study group included 100 histopatologically confirmed BCC cases, while the control group consisted of 100 patients from the same department, who did not present skin cancer and who were individually matched to the cases by sex and age (+/-5 years). All participants were interviewed using an epidemiological questionnaire. For statistical analysis t test and McNemar chi2 test for matched pairs and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used.
Results: The risk for development of BCC was increased among the persons with lighter hair color (t = 4.63; df = 99; p < 0.001), fair skin (t = 2.37; df = 99; p = 0.020), lighter eyes color (t = 2.86; df = 99; p = 0.005), with nevuses (OR = 13.13; p = 0.025; 95% IP = 1.39-12.03), and among those whose skin tone after sun exposure remained light (OR = 3.14; p = 0.001; 95%IP = 1.59-6.18).
Conclusion: Our study confirmed the significance of constitutional characteristics such as lighter hair color, fair skin, lighter eyes color, and the presence of nevuses in the development of BCC.