Skin cancers of the auricle: clinical, histological and surgical treatment analysis of 100 patients Nowotwory z o liwe skóry ma owiny usznej: analiza kliniczna, histologiczna i wyników leczenia chirurgicznego 100 chorych

Introduction: Malignant tumors of the external ear comprises 5-10% of all skin neoplasms. Clinical behavior of these tumors is more aggressive compare to others location. Objectives: Epidemiological, clinical, histological and surgical treatment analysis of the auricle malignancy. Material and methods: Among 1536 patients, who were diagnosed and treated because of skin cancer between 1998 and 2009, 100 patients with malignancy of the external ear were separated. Average age of the patients was 72,8± 9,6. The following patient and tumor characteristics were recorded: age, gender, anatomic site, tumors size, excisional margins, type of reconstruction and relapses. Results: Auricle malignancy represented about 5.6% of skin cancers. Average age of the patients was higher compare to all treated group. The male to female ratio was 4:1. The most common malignancy was basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (the BCC to SCC ratio was 2:1). Statically higher incidence of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compare to all treated group (27.7% vs. 10.9%; p<0.0001) was observed. Histological "high risk" tumors were also more frequent (23.2% vs. 9.5%; p=0.0004). The helix was the most common site of occurrence (45%). Local recurrence rate was 6.36% and it was higher than in other localization. Conclusion: Malignant tumors of the external ear are characterized by distinct clinical feature. We confirmed that skin malignancy of that site are connected with high risk of local recurrence.