Retrospective study on the local redurrence and distant metastasis of malignant skin tumors

ABSTRACT

The results of a retrospective study on 197 cases of malignant skin tumors, which were operated from July 1991 to June 1996 were presented. 1. Primary malignant skin tumors in our series included basal cell carcinoma (42%), squamous cell carcinoma (39%), melanoma (7%). Eighty five percentage of them were developed after 5th decade. There was a slight male preponderance (male to female ratio; 1.21). 2. seventy five percentage of malignant skin tumors were occurred in the head and neck. However 34% of squamous cell carcinoma occurred in the extremities. 3. Overall recurrence rate was 7.1% and overall metastasis rate was 7.6%. Seven cases (8.5%) of basal cell carcinoma were recurred without metastasis and seven cases (53.8%) of melanoma were meatastasized without recurrence. 4. Overall recurrence occurred at average 27 months after primary resection and 79% of them occurred in the head and neck. Among 14 recurred tumors, one recurred secondarily and three were metastasized elsewhere. 5.Two thirds of metastasis occurred within one year of resection. Mortality rate in the patients with metastasis was 40%. Metastases involved multiple organs and involved lymph nodes most frequently. 6.Fifteen patients with metastasis were treated with surgery alone (2 cases), surgery and adjuvant therapy (3 cases), radiation and/or chemolherapy without surgery (6 cases), and no therapy(4 cases).