C. Hurwitz1,2, G. Moreno3, S. Lee3
Background: The eyebrow is categorised as part of the concerning H-zone for cutaneous tumours of the face. However, there is very limited data on tumours of the eyebrow.
Method: Retrospective case series of patients with cutaneous eyebrow tumours treated with Mohs Micrographic Surgery (MMS) at The Skin Hospital Sydney between June 2012 and April 2017. The main outcomes were patient demographics, tumour types and subtypes, tumour size as well as postoperative defect size and repair type.
Results: In total there were 69 patients, 55.1% were female (n = 38) and 44.9% were male (n = 31), p = 0.470. Mean age at the time of surgery was 63.3 (SD=12.9), with no difference between genders, p = 0.102. Eyebrow tumours were more likely to occur on the right (59.4%) than the left (40.6%) eyebrow. The most common tumour type was Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) 87.0% (n = 60), followed by squamous cell carcinoma 10.1% (n = 7) and then Bowen’s disease 2.9% (n = 2). Within BCC subtypes, infiltrative was the most common, 43.4% (n = 30) followed by nodular 17.4% (n = 12), morpheaform 10.1% (n = 7), superficial 5.8% (n = 4) and micronodular 2.9% (n = 2). The median tumour size was 12.0 mm (IQR 7.5–18.0) with a median post-operative defect size of 19.0 mm (IQR 12.5– 26.5). The median number of stages to clear tumour margins was 1.91 (SD 1.03).
Discussion: BCC are the most common cutaneous eyebrow cancers managed by MMS. The majority of BCC on the eyebrow are aggressive subtypes highlighting the importance of attention to this region.