DOI: 10.36347/sasjm.2022.v08i07.011

Pages: 489-495

Prevalence of Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is ever increasing along with its referral to the dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. The multidisciplinary team is essential for decision making, especially where surgery can cause significant cosmetic deformities. This systematic review conglomerates various treatment options in superficial BCC management, particularly in anatomically sensitive areas. A database search using PubMed and Scopus from 2010 to 2022 was conducted. English language randomised controlled trials (RCT), non-randomised clinical trials and prospective studies were included. ROB 2 and ROBINS-I tools were used for risk of bias assessment of randomised controlled trials and prospective studies respectively. Topical treatments, photodynamic therapy (PDT), surgical excision, cryosurgery, curettage, laser therapy and combination therapies were analysed in 20 studies, 9 of which were RCTs with a total cohort of 2807 patients. Imiquimod emerged as gold standard treatment but current combination therapies, such as CO2 laser and PDT, and novel treatment modalities, such as topical ascorbic acid, can offer good results in terms of tumour free interval and cosmetic outcomes. Newer and combination treatments should be considered in the management armamentarium of superficial BCCs.