Abstract
Purpose::
To evaluate whether recurrencies of basal cell carcinoma have a greater risk of further recurrence, compared to primary tumors.
Methods::
We retrospectively reviewed 291 cases of eyelid basal cell carcinoma referred to our service for the first time: 226 were primitive lesions, and 65 were recurrences of primary tumors previously operated in other centers. In both groups the neoplasm was radically excised as demonstrated by the free margins on intraoperative frozen-section examination of the resection margins. All surgeries were carried out by the same surgical team and all pathological examinations performed by the same pathology service. No patient had undergone either pre- or postoperative radiotherapy. We calculated the frequency of recurrence in the two groups.
Results::
During a mean postoperative follow-up time of 51 months (range 3-96), we observed 6 recurrences among the 226 patients who had undergone primary tumor resection (2.6%) and 10 recurrences in the 65 patients who had undergone secondary excision (15.4%). The difference was statistically significant.
Conclusions::
The higher rate of recurrence of former recurrences of eyelid basal cell carcinoma confirms the crucial importance of a radical excision of all primary basal cell carcinomas.
Keywords: eyelid • tumors • oncology