TY - JOUR AB - Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare soft tissue tumor with intermediate malignancy. It is initially located on the skin from where it is able to infiltrate the deep structures and has a tendency to recur locally following inadequate excision. A t(17;22)(q22;q13) chromosome translocation is the main cytogenetic alteration responsible for the onset of DFSP. Treatment options include complete surgical excision by performing conventional surgery with wide margins (>3 cm) or Mohs micrographic surgery. A retrospective study was conducted in our Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and all data were collected from medical records of 59 DFSP patients within this department from 1999 to 2011. A total of 13 of 59 (22%) cases were treated with conventional excision; 3 (5%) cases resulted in tumor-free margins, 8 (14%) cases required surgical revision and 2 (3%) cases lead to recurrence. A total of 46 of 59 (78%) cases were treated with wide excision; 43 (73%) cases resulted in tumor-free margins, 3 (5%) cases required surgical revision and 0 (0%) cases lead to recurrence. In conclusion, the data collected reveal the controversy surrounding the adoption of general guidelines regarding safe margins. Further studies are required to investigate the possibility of obtaining genotypically altered margins from margins that may appear phenotypically healthy. AD - Department of Medical and Surgery Specialties, Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Catania, Cannizzaro Hospital, I-95126 Catania, Italy Department of Medical and Surgery Specialties, Section of Plastic Surgery, University of Catania, Cannizzaro Hospital, I-95126 Catania, Italy Department of Pathological Anatomy, University of Catania, Cannizzaro Hospital, I-95126 Catania, Italy AU - Stivala,Alessio AU - Lombardo,Giuseppe ,A.G. AU - Pompili,Gianluca AU - Tarico,Maria ,Stella AU - Fraggetta,Filippo AU - Perrotta,Rosario ,Emanuele DA - 2012/11/01 DO - 10.3892/ol.2012.887 EP - 1055 IS - 5 JO - Oncol Lett KW - dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans Mohs surgery conventional excision wide excision imatinib PY - 2012 SN - 1792-1074 1792-1082 SP - 1047 ST - Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: Our experience of 59 cases T2 - Oncology Letters TI - Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: Our experience of 59 cases UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2012.887 VL - 4 ER -