Conventional lesion excision for skin cancer

Direct surgical removal of skin cancer lesions is currently one of the main methods for treating skin cancer. The most common method is conventional lesion resection, which is characterized by the use of conventional surgery to completely remove the skin cancer lesions. If no lymph node metastasis is found, preventive lymph node resection is generally not performed.

After routine lesion resection, the excised tissue will also undergo a systematic pathological examination to confirm whether the skin cancer has been completely removed and whether there are any cancer cells remaining at the resection margin. If the postoperative pathological examination shows that the skin cancer has been completely removed and there are no cancer cells remaining at the resection margin, the patient can enter the postoperative follow-up observation process.

On the contrary, if the postoperative pathological examination shows that the skin cancer was not completely removed, or there are residual cancer cells at the cutting edge, the next treatment measure will be reasonably selected according to the patient's specific situation to prevent the recurrence of skin cancer after surgery. For example, another surgery or Mohs surgery can be selected to achieve the effect of complete removal of the cancer. If the patient's specific situation is not suitable for another surgery, comprehensive treatments such as postoperative radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy can be considered to reduce the postoperative recurrence rate and improve the cure rate.

Conventional lesion excision for skin cancer is suitable for most types of skin cancer, especially for low-risk skin cancer with superficial lesions less than 2 cm in size, which can achieve a high cure rate. The treatment effect is poor for skin cancer lesions larger than 2 cm, located in areas with high risk of recurrence, deeper invasion, and recurrent lesions.