Background: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a soft tissue tumor with slow infiltrative growth and local recurrence if inadequately excised.
Objective: To compare long-term outcomes after Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) and wide local excision (WLE).
Materials and methods: Records of patients with DFSP surgically treated with WLE or MMS from January 1955 through March 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.
Results: Mean follow-up for patients treated with MMS (n = 67) and WLE (n = 91) was 4.8 and 5.7 years, respectively. Twenty-eight patients (30.8%) with WLE had recurrence (mean, 4.4 years), whereas only 2 (3.0%) with MMS had recurrence (1.0 and 2.6 years). Recurrence-free survival rates at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were significantly higher with MMS (p < .001). Mean preoperative lesion sizes were similar (5-6 cm) between the 2 groups, whereas mean (standard deviation) postoperative defect sizes were 10.7 (4.3) cm and 8.8 (5.5) cm for WLE and MMS, respectively (p = .004). Primary closure was used for 73% of MMS cases, whereas WLE more commonly used flaps, grafts, or other closures (52%). Two Mohs layers typically were required for margin control.
Conclusion: Surgical excision with meticulous histologic evaluation of all surgical margins is needed for DFSP treatment to achieve long-term high cure rates and low morbidity.