Squamous cell carcinoma of the external ear: 170 cases treated with Mohs surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Squamous cell carcinoma of the ear (SCC-E) shows high rates of local recurrence (LR) and lymph node metastases (NM). SCC-E is the leading cause of death from nonmelanoma skin cancer. OBJECTIVE: To determine the LR and NM rates and survival after Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We treated 170 invasive SCC-E with MMS with a mean follow up of 48 months. Mean age was 76 years, 93.2% were male patients, mean size: 1.5 cm, and 61.8% of the tumours were well differentiated. RESULTS: We observed 5 LRs, 2 locoregional recurrences, and 16 NMs in 23 patients. LR and NM rates were 4.1% and 10.6%, respectively. Only 3/25 recurrences occurred after 2 years of follow up. We observed 1(0.6%) distant metastasis (DM) in a patient who also presented LR + NM. Six out of seven cases with LR and 8/18 with NM died of disease, regardless of aggressive surgical rescue with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and disease-specific survival were 81%, 82.6%, and 89.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Undeniably, the outcome in SCC-E is determined by locoregional control. DM are sporadic and rarely the cause of death. Systematic reviews and retrospective studies show a solid trend in favor of MMS vs surgical excision. The LR rate of this series (4.1%) is one of the lowest published to date with regard to SCC-E, and confirms this assertion. We observed 10.6% NMs according to other series that treated the whole spectrum of SCC-E. Almost 2/3 of patients with NMs die after therapeutic rescue. We believe that it is essential to identify prognostic factors to select patients for one of the following: close surveillance (ultrasonography) during the first 2 years after surgery, sentinel node biopsy, or elective treatment of the nodes (surgery or radiotherapy).

Treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma of the head and neck with Mohs surgery with paraffin sections.

INTRODUCTION: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, low-grade mesenchymal skin tumor. Complete surgical excision remains the mainstay of treatment. Head and neck (HN) DFSP features high local recurrence (LR) rates with wide local excision (WLE) due to both anatomical limitations and functional and cosmetic concerns. Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) allows complete margin control and is particularly suitable for HN-DFSPs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2000 and 2018, 103 DFSP were managed with MMS; 41 (39.8%) were in the HN. Our case series included 23 females (56.1%); mean age: 44.5 yrs. The most frequent sites were the supraclavicular area (10) and forehead (9). Mean size: 5.1 cm (6-16). Previous surgery: 43.9%. We have used permanent-tissue MMS (27 cases) since 2006. RESULTS: Mean first layer lateral margin: 1.6 cm. Negative margins after first and second stage: 51.2% and 92.7%, respectively. Mean follow-up: 92.6 months (16-225). LR: 1(2.4%). We observed no regional or distant metastasis. DISCUSSION: We conducted a literature search in PubMed for HN-DFSP and found that this seems to be the largest published series to date. In terms of LR, a substantial difference between WLE 62.5% (9-73%) and MMS 0.8% (0-2.4%) was seen. Forty-one HN-DFSP with unfavorable prognostic factors (mean size: 5.1 cm, previous treatment: 43.9%) were treated. LR: 1(2.4%). Mean follow-up: 92.6 months. Randomized controlled trials are needed, though not likely to be conducted, mainly because of the rarity of HN-DFSP, the need for a long follow-up, and the lack of MMS availability in some institutions. We consider MMS to be the standard treatment for HN-DFSP due to its high cure rate and tissue sparing. Modified WLE with complete margin control appears to be a comparable strategy.