Surgical treatment of verrucous carcinoma: a review

Background Verrucous carcinoma is a rare mucocutaneous malignancy characterized by slow, relentless growth and a low metastasis rate. Objective Herein we summarize surgical success rates and review newer approaches to the treatment of verrucous carcinomas.Methods & Materials: PubMed electronic searches were performed by B.F. and C.V. using combinations of the following terms: ''verrucous carcinoma,'' ''Ackerman tumor,'' ''Buschke Lowenstein,'' ''epithelioma cuniculatum,'' ''carcinoma cuniculatum,'' ''papillomatosis cutis,'' ''treatment,'' ''therapeutics,'' ''management,'' ''mohs surgery,'' and ''excision.'' A systematic review was conducted on 49 articles in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Results Surgical management remains first-line therapy. Wide local excision is most commonly utilized, with highly variable margins (0.5-3.0 cm) and recurrence rates (4.6-75.0%). Mohs Micrographic Surgery has also been used, especially for recurrent tumors, with an overall recurrence rate of 12.9%. Conclusion Surgery is the treatment of choice, either by Mohs Micrographic Surgery or wide local excision. However, surgical recurrence rates are high, and tissue-sparing therapies are desirable given the sensitive locations involved. Ultimately, randomized control trials are needed to develop evidence-based guidelines for the management of VCs.