A case of metastatic skin tumor treated with Mohs' gauze methods using gauze applied with Mohs' paste

ABSTRACT

Mohs' paste is a histopathological fixative with zinc chloride as the main ingredient. It has been applied to perform chemosurgery of skin tumors. In recent years, this paste has been reportedly very effective for control of various symptoms of skin metastasis in inoperable advanced cancer, such as pungent odor and hemorrhage in the field of palliative care. Shigeyama et al. modified the composition of the original Mohs' paste in order to regulate its viscosity; they added glycerin to a mixture of zinc chloride and zinc oxide. However, there may be difficulty in pasting this agent to a target region, because of its very high viscosity. Therefore, we devised two methods to overcome this difficulty; one was to paint the surface of a small piece of gauze with Mohs' paste, and the other was to apply the paste directly on the gauze and apply it to a lesion. We called the above two modifications, "Mohs' gauze method A and B." Mohs' gauze was used for the treatment of hemorrhage, pungent odor and huge exudate from a metastatic skin tumor of gastric cancer. These conditions disappeared without any side effects. We did not recognize the difference in fixation effect of the lesion between the conventional Mohs' paste method and our Mohs' gauze methods. Our method should make the Mohs' paste easier to apply, and might extend its indication. Palliat Care Res 2011; 6(1) 324-329