MULTIMODALITY TREATMENT OF SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMA COMPLICATING PILONIDAL DISEASE

Malignant degeneration is an unusual complication of chronic primary o r recurrent pilonidal disease. To date, only 43 cases have been report ed, the great majority being squamous cell type, Historically, these c ases were treated with primary excision. Recurrence following such tre atment was high and prognosis poor compared with nonmelanoma skin canc er. We describe a patient with squamous cell carcinoma arising in chro nic pilonidal disease, who is disease-free 3 years after adjuvant radi ation therapy following radical excision. This communication describes the clinicopathologic features of 38 cases of squamous cell carcinoma arising in pilonidal disease and suggests treatment modalities.