High Risk Factors and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Analysis of Prevalence and Recurrence

\n Objective: Early diagnosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (CSCC) is the most important factor affecting prognosis and most patients have a good prognosis. Some patients defined as high-risk group have high rates of regional recurrence and distant metastasis, and follow an aggressive course. In addition, recently numerous studies have being performed for determining the importance of sentinel lymph node sampling, and sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity has been associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, we aimed to determine prognostic importance of SLN outcomes in patients with high-risk patients diagnosed with CSCC.

\n Patients & Methods: A total of 29 patients who underwent excisional operation in various body regions with the diagnosis of CSCC between 2009 and 2017, with available complete clinical and pathologic data were included in the study. At least 9-month clinical follow-up results, high risk factors and sentinel lymph node biopsy outcomes of the patients were recorded and analyzed. Patients with at least one of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) criteria were considered as high-risk group.

\n Results: Twenty-five of the 29 CSCC patients were in the high-risk group. SLN positivity rate was 12% (n: 3/25) in the high-risk CSCC patients, all patients in the low-risk group had negative SLNs. All patients with SLN positive underwent local complementary lymphadenectomy, and all of these patients were re-operated due to recurrence. The rate of recurrence was found as 100% (n= 3/3) in high-risk CSCC patients with positive SLN, and 18% (n= 4/22) in high-risk CSCC patients with negative SLN. High recurrence rates (41.6%) and SLN positivity were observed in patients with hand-foot localizations.

\n Conclusion: High rates of local recurrence may be seen during progression of the disease in SLN positive patients. Hand-foot localization of CSCCs can be considered as a high risk factor regardless of a tumor diameter should be above 0.6 cm.