ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Skin cancer is the most common malignancy and can be treated in various ways. One treatment modality is Mohs micrographic surgery. Due to the increasing incidence of skin cancer in the last decades, there is a need for improvement of the Mohs technique to optimize its effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of dermoscopy to guide demarcation of Mohs micrographic surgery margins and ascertain whether this method can reduce operative time and, therefore, reduce surgical morbidity and cost. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The sample comprised 44 patients who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery, allocated into two groups: the control group and the intervention group. In the latter, surgical margins were guided by dermoscopy. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups by chi-square analysis (p = 0.399). CONCLUSION: Although outcomes were similar in the two groups, demonstrating that dermoscopy does not help in the demarcation of surgical margins for Mohs micrographic surgery, the study provides a practical proposal for improvement of the Mohs technique. .
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Carcinoma/surgery , Dermoscopy/methods , Mohs Surgery/methods , Skin Neoplasms/surgery , Anatomic Landmarks , Chi-Square Distribution , Carcinoma, Basal Cell/economics , Carcinoma, Basal Cell/pathology , Carcinoma, Basal Cell/surgery , Carcinoma/economics , Carcinoma/pathology , Dermoscopy/economics , Mohs Surgery/economics , Operative Time , Prospective Studies , Reproducibility of Results , Skin Neoplasms/economics , Skin Neoplasms/pathology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a disease with a high potential of distant metastasis, especially to bone and liver. To evaluate the routine use of bone and liver scintigraphy in the evaluation of metastatic disease during the pre-treatment and follow-up period, 112 new cases of NPC were enrolled. The pre-treatment scintigraphs were performed at the time of staging evaluation, while the follow-up ones were performed once a year and whenever clinically indicated. At the pre-treatment period, 3/112 cases showed a true positive result, all at bony sites. At the 3 years follow-up, 10/83 and 8/83 cases respectively showed a true positive result in the bone and liver. All of the positive cases had definite symptoms and signs of metastases, which correlated well with the scintigraphic findings. All without clinical evidence showed a negative finding. Therefore, we conclude that, without clinical indication, routine bone and liver scintigraphy are of limited value.