Despite the fact that this lesion is NOT in a sun-exposed skin site, the clinical features are typical for a basal cell carcinoma.

A 53-year-old woman was told by her hairdresser to have a dermatologist look at the 1.3-cm diameter, painless nodule behind her left ear. The nodule had never bled. The patient was ostensibly in good health.
Key point: The nodule appears somewhat translucent, and coarse telangiectases are seen traversing the lesion’s surface. Despite the fact that this lesion is NOT in a sun-exposed skin site, the clinical features are typical for a basal cell carcinoma. This presumptive diagnosis was verified by biopsy. A solitary cutaneous metastasis from an internal malignancy was considered in the differential diagnosis.
Treatment: The neoplasm was removed by excision, and the defect closed by developing a flap.
Note: Non-melanoma cutaneous cancers may arise in relatively sun-protected sites.
Atopic Dermatitis: The Pipeline and Clinical Approaches That Could Transform the Standard of Care
September 24th 2025Patient Care tapped the rich trove of research and expert perspectives from the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis 2025 conference to create a snapshot of the AD care of the future.