Management of the hand tumors

Abstract

Background: Tumors of the hand are usually benign in nature, and therefore, treatment is usually nonessential. Indications for the surgical treatment are cosmetic concern and potential for malignancy. Since malignant hand tumors are seen very rarely, suspicious findings should be assessed thoroughly, and the diagnosis should be established as well. The purpose of this article is to evaluate those lesions that commonly arise in the hand region including lipomas, ganglion cysts, and glomus tumors as well as malignant tumors such as soft-tissue sarcomas and squamous cell carcinomas. Material and Methods: A retrospective review of all 528 surgically removed primary skin and soft-tissue tumors of the hand at our department between 1996 and 2016 was performed. Results: A total of 528 patients were evaluated in this study. The most common benign tumor of the hand was pyogenic granuloma (24%), and the most common malign tumor of the hand was squamous cell carcinoma (65.2%). Malignant tumors incidence was higher in males, whereas benign tumors incidence was higher in females. Conclusions: A careful history and physical examination performed by a specialist can narrow down the possibilities regarding the type of tumor. The vast majority of hand tumors tend to be benign. In contrast to skin cancers in general, those occurring on the hand frequently have a worse prognosis, with a greater propensity for recurrence, metastatic spread, and functional deficit.

Keywords

• Hand surgery
• hand tumors
• pyogenic granuloma
• sentinel lymph node dissection
• squamous cell carcinoma