Electrical impedance of nodular basal cell carcinoma:: A pilot study

Background: Previously, we have explored the use of measurements of electrical impedance and devised 4 physically distinct indices named magnitude index (MIX), phase index, real part index and imaginary part index (IMIX) from the impedance data. Our results indicated that these indices could characterize contact reactions. Objective: The goal of the present study was to use the electrical impedance method for the preoperative assessment of nodular basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Methods: We included 11 patients with a total of 12 nodular BCC, diagnosed clinically and histologically, The noninvasive measurements were performed by transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and electrical impedance. For reference, normal looking contralateral or ipsilateral skin was used. Results: Compared to controls, the mean TEWL of BCC was increased, but this finding was not statistically significant. The electrical impedance measurements of BCC tissue revealed statistically significant changes of the impedance indices MIX and IMIX (p less than or equal to 0.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the measurement of electrical impedance might become useful for investigations of BCC.