Journal of Skin Cancer (Jan 2011)
Outcomes of Recurrent Head and Neck Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Abstract
Recurrent, advanced stage cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is uncommon with limited publications on patient outcomes. A retrospective study including patients who underwent surgical resection for recurrent, advanced stage cSCC of the head and neck was performed (n=72). Data regarding tumor site, stage, treatment, parotid involvement, perineural invasion, positive margins, metastasis, and disease-free survival was analyzed. The majority of patients were male (85%) and presented with recurrent stage III (89%) cSCC. Two-year disease-free survival was 62% and decreased to 47% at 5 years. Parotid involvement, positive margins, nodal metastasis, or the presence of perineural invasion did not correlate with decreased survival (P>.05). Distant metastasis was a strong indicator of poor overall survival (P<.001). Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy did not improve overall survival (P=.42). Overall survival was poor for patients with advanced recurrent cSCC despite the combined treatment with surgery and radiotherapy.