Curettage-Cryosurgery for Facial Skin Cancers Well Tolerated

Curettage and cryosurgery (CCS) could offer a highly viable treatment alternative for nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) on the face and scalp, according to a new study.

Researchers at University of Gothenburg (Sweden) prospectively gathered long-term results after CCS of nonmelanoma skin cancers in 726 patients with 962 face and scalp NMSCs. The patients were followed-up at one week after treatment, after three months, and then annually for at least five years. The maximum follow-up period was 14 years, between December 1994 and September 2008. The researchers recorded complication rate, patient tolerance, cosmetic outcome, and rate of recurrence.

The results showed that 99% of the women and 100% of the men graded the cosmetic outcome as 'good' on a three-level scale. A total of 42 patients (4.4%) received antibiotics due to clinical, superficial infections, and no other serious complications were recorded. Fifty-six (14%) women and 78 (23%) men developed one or more new NMSCs during the study period; 14 (1.5%) recurrences were recorded, and therefore an expected recurrence-free rate of over 97% after 14 years was calculated. The researchers cautioned CCS has a few drawbacks, such as producing an exudation from the wound that persists for 1-2 weeks, and that histological tumor-free margins cannot be secured. The study was published in the September 2009 issue of the British Journal of Dermatology.

"As the results after CCS are indeed reassuring considering patient tolerance, complication rates, cosmetic outcome, and recurrence rates we do hope that our study will encourage others to start performing the treatment as outlined in our study,” said coauthor Barbro Lindemalm-Lundstam, M.D., of the department of dermatology.

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University of Gothenburg