Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

In the current review, the authors set out to discuss the natural history and treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), a rare indolent cutaneous tumor. Approximately 10-15% of all DFSPs contain areas of fibrosarcoma (DFSP-FS), and such cases tend to exhibit more aggressive behavior. The optimal treatment for DFSP is resection with wide margins; the likelihood of local control associated with this procedure exceeds 90%. The probability of regional or distant metastases is less than or equal to5%. Patients with positive or close surgical margins have an elevated risk of local recurrence after resection alone; however, postoperative radiotherapy results in local control rates of greater than or equal to85% in such patients. Postoperative radiotherapy also is indicated in the rare event that a patient has unresectable macroscopic disease. Experience with the use of radiotherapy alone to treat macroscopic disease is limited. (C) 2004 American Cancer Society.