Adjuvant radiotherapy in management of trichilemmal carcinoma of left nasal alae with positive surgical margins: A case report

Abstract

Background: Trichilemmal carcinoma (TLC) is a rare adnexal malignant tumor developing from the outer root sheath of hair follicles with no distinct clinical features which might clinically be misdiagnosed as actinic keratosis, nodular melanoma, basal or squamous cell carcinoma. Albeit no consensus exists on standard treatment of TLC, tumor excision with adequate clear margins is the current widely accepted treatment consideration with no previous literature on use of radiotherapy (RT) in definitive or postoperative settings.

Case presentation: A 60-year-old woman who was repeatedly treated with cryotherapy located on her left nasal alae for an initial diagnosis of actinic keratosis and diagnosed as TLC at last surgery was referred for RT of microscopic surgical margins. The patient was treated with 6 MeV electron beam RT prescribed to surgical bed plus 1-cm margins at all directions, namely the planning target volume. The total and per fraction doses were 60 and 2 Gy, respectively, which is commonly practiced for any skin tumor with positive margins. The treatment was well tolerated with no acute or chronic complications. The patient was alive with no local, regional, or distant recurrences at the 49 months of her follow-up.

Conclusions: Although the follow-up period is relatively short and further evidence is needed to confirm the exact role of RT in adjuvant treatment of TLC, the outcomes of present rare case of a nasal TLC suggests that adjuvant RT in patients with positive surgical margins may provide satisfactory local tumor control.