The material does not necessarily reflect the current or past opinions of members of the UTMB faculty and should not be used for purposes of diagnosis or treatment without consulting appropriate literature sources and informed professional opinion. Most tumors arise on the sun-exposed regions of the head and neck. The median delay for diagnosis between first onset and definitive treatment is 3 years. With significant enough sun exposure all caucasians and some other skin types are at significant risk. This is followed by squamous cell carcinoma.
Malignant melanoma is less common yet needs to be mentioned due to it malignant tendency.
Due to the location on the face, especially the nose, lip, ear and periorbital area, the most conservative yet complete excision is the desired result to prevent recurrence. The technique of Mohs surgery has been developed to use serial excisions with microscopic examination of the specimen to attain a complete excision. In 1932 while working as a cancer research assistant at University of Wisconsin, a medical student Frederic E. Mohs developed a technique of excising cutaneous cancers using a chemical fixative, zinc chloride, under microscopic control. In 1941 Mohs went on to publish his work on the caustic escharotic agent, zinc chloride, which was enabling him to excise the cancerous lesion in a relatively blood-free field, rendering it suitable for sections. The procedure consisted of an overnight application of zinc chloride paste.