Which eyelid cancer is commonly described as having telangiectasia more likely?

• A. Squamous cell carcinoma
• B. Basal cell carcinoma
• C. Melanoma
• D. Adenocarcinoma

Answer: (B)

Telangiectasia on an eyelid lesion is a classic clue for basal cell carcinoma, the most common eyelid cancer. Basal cell carcinomas often appear as pearly, translucent nodules with fine, visible vessels on the surface due to their vascularized growth in the dermis. That telangiectatic pattern is less typical for the other eyelid cancers: squamous cell carcinoma tends to be crusted or Keratinized with irregular borders, melanoma varies in pigmentation and can be pigmented or amelanotic, and adenocarcinoma of the eyelid glands is rarer and doesn’t usually present with surface telangiectasia. So the presence of telangiectasia most strongly points to basal cell carcinoma.