Basal cell carcinoma on the vermilion border of the lip: a study of six cases.

BACKGROUND: The vermilion border of the lower lip is a frequent location of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but it is very rarely mentioned within the published series of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs).

OBJECTIVE: We present 6 cases of BCC involving either mainly or exclusively the vermilion border of a lip.

METHODS: We reviewed from our files all the cases of BCC diagnosed in a period of 11 years.

RESULTS: A number of 3,477 BCCs were histologically diagnosed in that period; 2,872 (82.6%) of them were located on the head, and 66 (2.3%) of the latter (1.9% of all BCCs) were on the lips. In 6 cases, the neoplasm involved either mainly or exclusively the vermilion border of either the lower (5 cases) or the upper (1 case) lip.

CONCLUSION: Not every carcinoma of the vermilion border of the lip is a SCC.