OBJECTIVETo emphasize the importance of correct and standardized surgical treatment on dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), and discuss the suitable synthesized therapy on it.

METHODS163 cases of DFSP, which were treated between January 1985 and September 2002,were submitted to a retrospective study.

RESULTSAmong the 163 cases, 150 (92.0%) were treated with local excision as benign tumors before accepted to Cancer Hospital, Fudan University. 69 cases (46.0%) were approved by pathological examination to have tumor remnants after they were treated with wide excision, and 49 (71.0%) of them couldn't be found to have any tumor remnants by physical examination or B-ultrasonic examination before that operation. It was easy for the tumor to recur after excision, especially the local excision. The recurrent rate after it was 45.1%, which was much higher than the one after wide excision (5.6%). Among the 142 cases which wide excision were performed, 99 ones had excision margins >/= 3 cm and 5 of them (5.1%) developed local recurrence while 36 ones had excision margins 1 approximately 2 cm and 3 of them (8.3%) developed local failure. 46 cases (32.4%) were given skin graft, 11 cases were given flap, and 1 case had dacron mending in skin defection area. The main complications after these operations were necrosis of the skin flap (20 cases) and infection of the wound (6 cases). They could all be cured in 2 months. 17 cases were given complimentary radiotherapy with the dose range from 3275 cGy to 7000 cGy because of their recurrences for times or positive resection margins after wide excision. Only one case had wet molting after radiotherapy and 2 developed local recurrence. Among all the 163 cases, only 2 (1.2%) were dead, and 1 of them was died of metastasis of lung and liver. 2 cases got lymph node metastasis, then were given surgical treatment and still alive now. 13 cases (8.0%) were DFSP-FS with their malignancies increased. 11 of them were the recurrent ones after local excision or wide excision.

CONCLUSIONSIn order to avoid misdiagnosis, it is necessary for the clinician to know much about DFSP. Once the tumor was diagnosed of DFSP after local excision, it is necessary to take wide excision. Because DFSP is a malignancy of a high recurrent rate after local excision, standardized wide excision is the key in reducing local failure. Adjuvant radiotherapy is an effective treatment for the patients with positive resection margin or the patients don't suit for surgical treatment. The DFSP-FS need to use more energetic treatment in curing it.