Surgical management of skin cancers: experience from a regional cancer centre in North India.

AIMS To review the disease profile and treatment outcome of patients with primary skin malignancies treated at a regional cancer centre. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Surgical oncology unit of a tertiary care regional cancer centre. Evaluation of treatment outcome of patients with skin cancer from Surgical Oncology database was done. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of records of 77 patients with skin cancers treated between 1995 and 2002 was conducted. Profile of patients with skin cancer, surgical details including the management of primary tumour, regional lymph nodes and reconstructive procedures performed and survivals were analysed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS All computations were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-9). Descriptive statistics were calculated in a standard fashion and survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Skin cancers constituted 2.4% (77/3154) of patients with cancer treated in the surgical oncology department. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most common histological type (55.8%) followed by melanoma (26.1%) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC, 18.1%). Forty one percent of patients had undergone some form of intervention elsewhere before being referred. Reconstruction was required in 55.8% patients with large postresection defects. Regional lymph nodal dissection was required in 32.4% of total patients. Five-year median disease-free survival for the entire study population was 75%. CONCLUSIONS Skin cancers constitute a small but significant proportion of patients with cancer. Unlike in the Western countries, SCC is the commonest histologic variety. Primary level inadequate intervention is very common. Optimal results can be obtained with radical surgery and optimal surgical margins along with a reconstructive procedure when needed.