Mohs micrographic surgery for eyelid sebaceous carcinoma: A multicenter cohort of 360 patients

Abstract

Background: The decision to perform Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) or wide local excision (WLE) for eyelid sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is controversial.

Objective: To compare local recurrence, metastasis, and tumor-related mortality of patients with eyelid SC who were initially treated with MMS versus with WLE.

Methods: A multicenter cohort study. Medical records were reviewed for factors associated with recurrence, metastasis, and tumor-related mortality. All eligible patients were followed up. The impact of initial surgical modality on the prognoses were determined by Cox analyses after control for all confounders.

Results: Of the 360 patients included in this cohort, 115 (31.9%) underwent MMS as primary resection, whereas 245 (68.1%) underwent WLE. After a median follow-up period of 60.0 months, local recurrence was observed in 18 patients (15.7%) in the MMS group and 97 patients (39.6%) in the WLE group. Metastasis occurred in 9 patients (7.8%) who underwent MMS and 38 (15.5%) who underwent WLE. In all, 6 patients in the MMS group (5.2%) and 21 in the WLE group (8.6%) died of metastatic SC. Multivariable Cox regression indicated that compared with the WLE group, the MMS group exhibited more favorable local recurrence control (hazard ratio [HR], 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.73; P = .002) but a comparable metastasis rate (HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.60-3.18; P = .453) and comparable tumor-related mortality (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 0.59-4.93; P = .329). However, this beneficial effect became nonremarkable for patients with pagetoid intraepithelial neoplasia (HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 0.37-8.21; P = .488).

Limitations: Retrospective nature of the study.

Conclusion: MMS should be proposed for eyelid SC without orbital involvement to achieve recurrence control; however, this surgical procedure did not change the long-term outcomes in terms of metastasis or tumor-related mortality. Patients with pagetoid intraepithelial neoplasia may require adjuvant measures.

Keywords: Mohs micrographic surgery; eyelid sebaceous carcinoma; metastasis; recurrence; tumor-related mortality.