Morpheaform basal cell carcinoma in African Americans

BACKGROUND. Although it has been established that basal cell carcinoma is an uncommon diagnosis in black patients, the morpheaform subtype is very rare among these individuals. OBJECTIVE. The objective is to present two cases of morpheaform basal cell carcinoma in African-American patients. METHODS. This is a case series and a literature review using the Ovid Medline Database. Key words used in the search include "basal cell carcinoma," "African American," "black," "African," "negros," "morpheaform," "sclerosing," "fibrosing," and "scar-like basal cell carcinoma." The Ovid Medline Database was searched from 1966 to present and was restricted to the English language. RESULTS. A review of the Emory Dermatology clinic charts from 1989 to 2004 revealed two black patients with morpheaform basal cell carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS. Although extremely rare, morpheaform pattern basal cell carcinoma must be considered in the differential diagnosis for black patients presenting with nonhealing lesions.