Nonsurgical methods of treatment providing cure rates approaching those provided by surgery offer a significant advantage to patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in certain anatomic locations. While intralesional interferon has been used to treat BCC with some success, the deliver method requires multiple visits to the doctor’s office, which makes compliance a challenge for the patient. Initial success with light-based therapy of BCC over a decade ago has not evolved to the point where it is an effective, widely available treatment. The new class of immune response modifiers, represented by topical imiquimod cream, shows promise for providing topical treatment of early BCC. It is hoped that further developments of the class of drugs will produce an agent with fewer side effects and improved efficacy for nodular BCC.

SCIENTISTS have speculated that the replication of malignant cells and invasion of surrounding tissue represents a failure of the immune system, which is constantly eliminating malignant cells.