Cell Processes in Basal Cell Carcinoma

Three cell process types are described in basal cell carcinoma. The most abundant are thin processes resembling microvilli; thick processes, mesa-like structures often surmounted by desmosomes; and large bulging processes. Processes occur in the intercellular spaces, and are more numerous in spinocellular cells than in basaloid cells. Despite the abundance of processes in basal cell carcinoma, they do not usually penetrate the basal lamina border of the tumor. This behavior differs from more rapidly invasive squamous cell carcinoma where processes extend through the fragmenting basal lamina into the stroma.