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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2016; 43(06): 538-543
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2016.43.6.538
Original Article

The Relationship between the Size and the Invasion Depth of Tumors in Head and Neck Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Authors

  • Sam Yong Lee

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

  • Won Joo Hwang

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

  • Kyung Pil Kim

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

  • Hong Min Kim

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

  • Jae Ha Hwang

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

  • Kwang Seog Kim

    Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
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Background Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which occurs in keratinocytes of the epidermis and is the second most common skin cancer, has a more invasive growth pattern and higher potential to metastasize than basal cell carcinoma. Total excision of the primary tumor is the treatment of choice. For clear excision of the tumor, invasion depth is one of the most important factors. This study was conducted to clarify the relationship between the size and the invasion depth of cutaneous SCC.

Methods Twenty-six cases were collected for this prospective study. Frozen biopsies were examined after complete resection of the tumor, followed by histological confirmation by pathological examination. The major and minor axis lengths of the tumor, the invasion depth, and the level of invasion were measured. Recurrence or metastasis was recorded through regular follow-up.

Results The Pearson correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. Significant results were observed for the relationship between the major and minor axis lengths and the invasion depth of the tumor (0.747, 0.773). No cases of recurrence or metastasis were observed.

Conclusions In head and neck cutaneous SCC, the invasion depth of the tumor is closely related to the major and minor axis lengths of the tumor. Therefore, the invasion depth of the tumor can be estimated by measuring the size of the tumor, and a standard vertical safety margin for head and neck cutaneous SCC can be established, which could be helpful in the development of a preoperative reconstruction plan.

Keywords

Carcinoma - Epithelial cells - Skin neoplasms - Keratinocytes

This article was presented as a poster at the 73rd Congress of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, November 13–15, 2015 in Seoul, Korea.




Publication History

Received: 20 May 2016

Accepted: 12 October 2016

Article published online:
20 April 2022

© 2016. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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