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The Thumb pp 273–283Cite as

Malignant Tumors

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Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequent malignant skin tumor that arises in the hand, followed by basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and malignant melanoma (MM). Meticulous history taking and careful physical examinations of skin lesions with suspicion are important, as these lesions can easily be misdiagnosed as simple ulcers or benign pigmented lesions. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, general metastasis workups are required especially for MMs. Sentinel biopsy of the axillary lymph node should be performed for high-risk groups. Complete excision of the tumors with an adequate surgical margin is the treatment of choice. The safety margin is largely determined on the basis of the size of the tumors for BCCs and SCCs and the depth of the tumors for MMs. The complete excision should be followed with reconstructive surgery to preserve hand function. The overall prognosis is poor especially for MMs with deep invasion or subungual lesions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea

    Sung Tack Kwon & Byung Jun Kim

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  1. Sung Tack Kwon
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  2. Byung Jun Kim
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. W Institute for Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, W Hospital, Daegu, Korea (Republic of)

    Sang Hyun Woo

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Kwon, S.T., Kim, B.J. (2019). Malignant Tumors. In: Woo, S. (eds) The Thumb. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4400-7_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4400-7_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4399-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4400-7

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