Surgical treatment of verrucous carcinoma: a review.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Verrucous carcinoma is a rare mucocutaneous malignancy characterized by slow, relentless growth and a low metastasis rate.

OBJECTIVE:

Herein we summarize surgical success rates and review newer approaches to the treatment of verrucous carcinomas.

METHODS AND MATERIALS:

PubMed electronic searches were performed by B.F. and C.V. using combinations of the following terms: "verrucous carcinoma," "Ackerman tumor," "Buschke Lowenstein," "epithelioma cuniculatum," "carcinoma cuniculatum," "papillomatosis cutis," "treatment," "therapeutics," "management," "mohs surgery," and "excision." A systematic review was conducted on 49 articles in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.

RESULTS:

Surgical management remains first-line therapy. Wide local excision is most commonly utilized, with highly variable margins (0.5-3.0 cm) and recurrence rates (4.6-75.0%). Mohs Micrographic Surgery has also been used, especially for recurrent tumors, with an overall recurrence rate of 12.9%.

CONCLUSION:

Surgery is the treatment of choice, either by Mohs Micrographic Surgery or wide local excision. However, surgical recurrence rates are high, and tissue-sparing therapies are desirable given the sensitive locations involved. Ultimately, randomized control trials are needed to develop evidence-based guidelines for the management of VCs.

• Authors: Bilal Fawaz, Carlos Vieira, Ashley Decker, Naomi Lawrence
• Journal: The Journal of dermatological treatment (J Dermatolog Treat) Vol. 33 Issue 4 Pg. 1811-1815 (Jun 2022) ISSN: 1471-1753 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33849379 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review, Systematic Review)

Topics

• Carcinoma, Verrucous (pathology, surgery)
• Foot Diseases (pathology)
• Humans
• Mohs Surgery
• Neoplasm Recurrence, Local (pathology)
• Skin (pathology)
• Skin Neoplasms (pathology, surgery)