ABSTRACT
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS The goal of this chapter is to present an overview of the cure rates for local, regional, and distant metastatic involvement with malignant cutaneous neoplasms. Because the neoplasms discussed range from locally invasive basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) to highly lethal soft-tissue sarcomas, discussion will focus on either recurrence rates or survival rates, as indicated by the biologic tendencies of specific neoplasms. The quality of the literature with regard to consistency and depth is less than optimal in many areas, and attempts will be made to highlight controversial points. Finally, it is important to realize that the majority of therapies have not been subjected to head to head comparison, and the inevitable selection bias between study populations has a major impact on the cure rates cited. Therefore, direct comparisons of cure rates for different modalities should be viewed in the context of these inherent biases.
