Can You Rely on Punch Biopsies to Accurately Guide Therapy for Basal Cell Carcinoma?

Ted Rosen, MD

Dr. Rosen is Professor of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Dr. Rosen reports no conflicts of interest in relation to this post.

It is uncommon for a virtual cascade of papers to simultaneously disclose potentially game-changing medical information, especially when physician authors practice in markedly disparate parts of the world. Nonetheless, 2012 brought 3 distinct papers that sharply call into question the accuracy of the standard punch biopsy in determining the subtype of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs).