Abstract
Objectives To identify the recurrence rates and survival outcomes of patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp.
Methods This study was a retrospective chart review of eight patients that had squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp with either periosteal or skull invasion on clinical and/or radiographic evaluation.
Results The disease-free survival was 62.5% (5/8 patients) with a local control rate of 75% (6/8 patients) for the entire group. The two patients with full-thickness craniectomy had a local control rate of 100% (2/2 patients); the patients with outer cortex removal had a local control rate of 66.7% (4/6 patients). The disease-free survival of the full-thickness group was 50% (1/2 patients ), and the disease-free survival of the outer cortex removal patients was 66.7% (4/6 patients).
Conclusion Despite the invasive nature of this disease, a high degree of local control can be achieved in this high-risk group with multiple comorbidities using outer cortex drilldown, and, in properly selected patients, full-thickness calvarial resection. We conclude that for patients without evidence of medullary involvement that outer table drilldown offers a well-tolerated approach with reasonable oncologic control.
Keywords
squamous cell carcinoma - scalp cancer - head and neck cancer - survival outcomes - periosteal invasion
