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.