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Reoperation recommended for patients at high risk for recurrent BCC

Patients with positive surgical margins from superficial multifocal or micronodular tumors should undergo reoperation after surgery for treatment of basal cell carcinoma, according to recent study findings.

“In situations where Mohs surgery is not routine or accessible, close follow-up of the patients without an immediate reoperation who had surgical margin positivity may be an acceptable solution in some low-recurrence [basal cell carcinoma (BCC)] subtypes,” Aykut Bozan, MD, and colleagues wrote. “Patients with superficial multifocal and micronodular subtypes should undergo reoperation because of high recurrence rates.”

Bozan and colleagues analyzed 154 lesions from 130 patients who underwent surgery for BCC between 2004 and 2014. The researchers evaluated the BCC subtype, localization of the tumor, margin distance of the tumor, and whether there was a positive margin.

They found 23 lesions in 22 patients had positive margins. Six patients with lesions had recurrences on the surgical site: three had micronodular lesions, two had multifocal superficial lesions and one had an infiltrative lesion.

“The infiltrative subtype has a potential recurrence risk,” Bozan and colleagues wrote. “It can either be approached with an additional operation or can be followed up very carefully.” — by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.