WEDNESDAY, Aug. 7, 2024 -- For patients with lentigo maligna treated by staged excision, 89.2 percent had clear margins after initial excision with 5-mm margins, according to a study published in the July issue of SKIN.

Michael Adkison, from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of primary and recurrent lentigo maligna treated by staged excision with complete circumferential and deep margin assessment between 2011 and 2023 at a single institution. The percentage of tumors with clear margins was assessed after initial incision with 5-mm margins.

Sixty-five tumors were identified, with a mean preoperative tumor size of 2.2 ± 0.9 cm. The researchers found that 89.2 percent of the patients had clear margins. Seven patients received more than one excision (three patients needed two; two needed three; one needed four; and one underwent five excisions). For cases requiring multiple excisions, the mean preoperative tumor size was 2.4 ± 1.2 cm. One of these tumors was a recurrent lentigo maligna.

"Our study demonstrates a slightly higher percentage of tumors cleared with 5 mm margins than reported in existing literature," the authors write.