Setting the Standard for Cutaneous Melanoma Wide Local Excision: An Overview of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Standard 5.5.

The purpose of this article is to review the objectives of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Operative Standards with a specific focus on Standard 5.5, which pertains to curative intent wide local excision of primary cutaneous melanoma lesions. We review the details and rationale of the standard itself, including its requirement to include specific elements and responses in synoptic format in operative reports.

Radiation and Its Impact on Local Recurrence in Extremity and Trunk Well-Differentiated Liposarcomas.

Patients with well-differentiated liposarcomas (WDLPS) of the extremity and trunk are treated primarily with surgical resection, with radiation used for a number of anecdotal reasons, including large size and positive margins. In this study, we evaluate the appropriate role for radiation in these tumors. A retrospective chart review of patients with extremity and trunk soft tissue liposarcomas referred to a free-standing cancer center from January 1995 to December 2011 was performed. One hundred eighty-three patients with extremity and trunk soft tissue WDLPS were identified: 61 per cent were female, median age was 60 years (range, 19-84 years) and 2 per cent had a focal area of dedifferentiation, margin status was positive in 57 per cent. Fourteen per cent of patients received radiation. Fifty patients developed recurrent disease; 28 per cent of these received radiation. Median time to recurrence was 18 years (range, 0.7-22 years). Of the 50 patients who recurred, 14 (28%) received radiation. Radiation was associated with decreased second recurrence when administered for recurrent disease (P = 0.03). On multivariable analysis, tumor size ≤ 10 cm (P = 0.014) and anatomically difficult area of resection (P = 0.008) were predictive of increased risk of recurrence. Older age (P = 0.02), dedifferentiated liposarcomas (P < 0.001), and difficult area of resection (P = 0.02) were associated with the administration of radiotherapy. Administration of radiation therapy was not associated with decreased time to recurrence in WDLPS overall; however, it should be considered in patients with recurrent disease.