Recommendations

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Definitive And Postoperative Radiation Therapy For Basal And Squamous Cell Cancers Of The Skin

American Society for Radiation Oncology

Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

American Society for Radiation Oncology Grading System

Grade	Strength of Recommendation
Strong	For the Patient	For the Clinician
Strong	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action and only a small proportion would not.	Most individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action and only a small proportion would not. The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.
Conditional (weak)	The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.	Different choices will be appropriate for different patients. Decision aids may well be useful in helping individuals making decisions consistent with their values and preferences. Clinicians should expect to spend more time with patients when working toward a decision.

Grade	Quality of Evidence
High	We are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
Moderate	We are moderately confident in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
Low	Our confidence in the effect estimate is limited. The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
Expert Opinion	A lower quality of evidence, including expert opinion, does not imply that the recommendation is conditional. Many important clinical questions addressed in guidelines do not lend themselves to clinical trials but there still may be consensus that the benefits of a treatment or diagnostic test clearly outweigh its risks and burden.

Document Overview

Document Title: Definitive And Postoperative Radiation Therapy For Basal And Squamous Cell Cancers Of The Skin

Authoring Society: American Society for Radiation Oncology

Document Publication Date: Dec 1, 2019

Page Last Reviewed/Updated: May 5, 2026

Document Type: Guideline

Country of Publication: United States

Full Text Freely Available: Yes

Full Text Guideline: www.practicalradonc.org/article/S1879-8500(19)30323-6/fulltext

Source Citation: DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prro.2019.10.014

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Document Objectives: This guideline reviews the evidence for the use of definitive and postoperative radiation therapy (RT) in patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).

Scope: Management, Treatment

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D002294 - Carcinoma, Squamous Cell

D018787 - Radiation Oncology

D011827 - Radiation

D012878 - Skin Neoplasms

D002280 - Carcinoma, Basal Cell

D018295 - Neoplasms, Basal Cell

D018307 - Neoplasms, Squamous Cell

D002294 - Carcinoma, Squamous Cell

D018787 - Radiation Oncology

D011827 - Radiation

D012878 - Skin Neoplasms

D002280 - Carcinoma, Basal Cell

D018295 - Neoplasms, Basal Cell

D018307 - Neoplasms, Squamous Cell

Keywords: Adjuvant Radiation Therapy, radiation therapy, skin cancer

Target Patient Population: Patients with BCC/cSCC

Inclusion Criteria: Male, Female, Adolescent, Adult, Older Adult

Health Care Settings: Ambulatory, Hospital, Outpatient, Radiology Services

Intended Users: Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

Number of Source Documents: 100

Literature Search Start Date: Sunday, May 1, 1988

Literature Search End Date: Friday, June 1, 2018

Includes peer/external review process?: Yes

Includes public comment process?: Yes

Methodologist involvement?: Yes

Patient involvement?: Yes

Includes multi-disciplinary group?: Yes

Includes systematic review?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of evidence?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of recommendation?: Yes

Discloses funding source?: Yes

Discloses conflicts of interest?: Yes

Includes benefits/harms analysis with recommendations?: Yes

Definitive And Postoperative Radiation Therapy For Basal And Squamous Cell Cancers Of The Skin

Recommendations

Definitive RT

PORT

Both BCC and cSCC

cSCC

BCC

RT for treating regional nodes and regional disease management

Radiation techniques and dose-fractionation schedules for primary site management

Use of chemotherapy, biologic, and immunotherapy agents before, during, or after RT

American Society for Radiation Oncology Grading System

Document Overview

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology