Introduction
We have been impressed by the almost constant presence of smaller and larger foci of keratin material in the epithelial cell nests of basal-cell epitheliomas. This study was undertaken to evaluate these keratinized foci and to see if any light could be shed on the morphogenesis of basal-cell epitheliomas and also to question the validity of the concept of basal-squamous epithelioma.
Methods
All of the basal-cell tumors seen in our laboratory during the past two and one-half years were reexamined and reviewed. The specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, occasional ones with silver and PAS stains. Biopsy specimens of 147 lesions from 122 patients were studied. One patient had as many as nine separate lesions, removed, interestingly enough, from the back.
Gross and Microscopic Observations
Grossly, the tumors were either flat or sligthly raised, forming low mounds. Only one lesion was polypoid and pedunculated. Basically,
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