The Management of Periocular Basal Cell Carcinoma: Mohs Micrographic Surgery Versus Wide Excision with Later Reconstruction. Predictors for Margin of Resection >4 mm in Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Efficacy of micrographic surgery versus conventional excision in reducing recurrence for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The standard of care for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) involves excision by conventional surgery (CS) with a predefined safety margin of resection or micrographic surgery (MS) with microscopic margin control. Previous studies have reported the superiority of MS in reducing recurrences for high-risk BCC and SCC. This systematic review aimed to assess MS and CS recurrence rates by including randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and cohort studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted for related studies in PubMed, LILACS, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINHAL and Cochrane until May 2023. RCTs and cohorts involving patients with BCC or SCC submitted to MS and CS were included. Risk of bias assessment followed Cochrane-recommended tools for RCTs and cohorts, and certainty of evidence followed the GRADE approach. Pooled estimates were used to determine the relative risk (RR) and absolute risk difference (RD) using a random-effects model. Seventeen studies were included, two RCTs and fifteen cohorts. There were 82 recurrences in 3050 tumours submitted to MS, with an overall recurrence rate of 3.1% (95% CI 2.0%-4.7%). For CS, there were 209 recurrences in 3453 tumours, with a recurrence rate of 5.3% (95% CI 2.9%-9.3%). The combined estimate of RR was 0.48 (95% CI 0.36-0.63), without heterogeneity nor evidence of publication bias (p > 0.3). The RD resulted in 2.9% (95% CI 1.0%-4.9%; NNT = 35). Regarding subgroup analysis, the RR for BBC was 0.37 (95% CI 0.25-0.54), and RD was 3.7% (95% CI 0.8%-6.5%; NNT = 28). For SCC, RR was 0.57 (95% CI 0.29-1.13), and RD was 1.9% (95% CI 0.8%-4.7%; NNT = 53). Among primary tumours, RR was 0.39 (95% CI 0.28-0.54), and for recurrent tumours was 0.67 (95% CI 0.30-1.50). There is moderate evidence based on two RCTs, and low evidence based on 15 cohort studies that MS is superior to CS in reducing recurrences of BCCs and primary tumours. The development of protocols that maximize the cost-effectiveness of each method in different clinical scenarios is paramount.

Periocular basal cell carcinoma recurrence following surgical treatment: Safe surveillance time

BACKGROUND

To report the rate of primary periocular BCC recurrence following surgical excision in low-risk and high-risk BCCs, and to propose long term follow up guidelines.

METHODS

Retrospective case series of primary BCC treated with surgical excision (Mohs micrographic surgery [MMS], wide local excision [WLE] or fast paraffin excision) who have histologically-confirmed BCC subtype and histologically-measured tumour clearance margins.

RESULTS

77 patients (78 eyelids) were included. Mean age was 72.0 ± 12.8 years with a female predominance (42, 54.5%). Most common histological BCC subtype was nodular (39, 50.0%). 44 (56.47.1%) patients underwent MMS. Tumour clearance was achieved in 59 (75.6%) eyelids after one surgery. 9 had further surgery to achieve tumour clearance while 10 were monitored. There was no statistical significance between recurrence rates in patients who had tumour clearance compared with patients with incomplete tumour clearance after initial surgery (p = 0.15). In patients with incomplete tumour clearance, there was no statistical significance between recurrence rates in those who underwent further surgery versus those monitored (p = 0.47). Average follow-up duration was 37.9 ± 17.2 months. Three (3.9%) cases had recurrent BCC. All three cases had high-risk BCC features (infiltrative subtypes and/or incomplete tumour excision after initial surgery).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no evidence of recurrence of completely excised, low-risk BCCs at three years, regardless of type of surgical excision. We recommend patients with completely excised, primary BCCs without high-risk features be monitored for one year. Patients with any high-risk BCC features, such as incompletely excised tumours or high-risk histological subtypes, should be monitored for five years.