Frequency of and risk factors for incomplete surgical margins of cutaneous cancers: a retrospective study

Abstract

Background

Incomplete resection is a problem in the management of malignancies. This study is aimed to determine frequency of and risk factors for incomplete surgical margins in skin cancers.

Methods

In this retrospective study, resected skin cancers of a hospital from 2009 to 2020 were reviewed and, based on histopathology reports, categorized as incomplete/positive or complete/negative margins. The demographics and tumor characteristics were extracted from patients' medical files and compared between two groups.

Results

Three hundred and sixty-four skin cancers were resected from 304 patients; incomplete margins occurred in 26.3%. There were no significant differences in gender, age, and site of tumors on the body parts (including head, neck, trunk, and limbs) between the positive and negative margin groups. Incomplete resections were significantly associated with size, site of tumors on various parts of the head (such as scalp, ear, nose, etc.), number of lesions excised in one session, and physician specialty.

Conclusions

Size, site of tumors on various parts of the head (such as scalp, ear, nose, etc.), number of lesions excised in one session, and physician specialty are risk factors for positive surgical margin. These characteristics may help clinicians to identify high-risk tumors and reduce the chance of incomplete cancer resection.

Keywords:

• Incomplete margin
• skin cancer
• surgical excision
• positive margin

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mr. Naser Reshadmanesh for statistical assistance in this study.

Ethical statement

The research ethics committee of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences approved this study (IR.MUK.REC.1398.165).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors (the data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 1398.165).