Lee J, Forrester VJ, Novicoff WM, et al. - For higher-grade squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), an association between surgical delays of less than a year and tumor growth was found, with effect sizes holding potential for clinical significance.

• This is a retrospective study of 299 SCCs and 802 basal cell carcinomas managed with Mohs surgery at a single institution.

• Surgical delays ranged from 0 to 331 days, and independent predictors of change in major diameter (ΔMD: from size at biopsy to postoperative defect) in SCCs were: histologic subtype and prior treatment.

• There were significant links between ΔMD and surgical delay for poorly- and moderately-differentiated SCCs, showing growth rates of 0.28 cm and 0.24 cm per month of delay, respectively.

• For SCCs with prior treatment and basal cell carcinoma subgroups, ΔMD did not vary with surgical delay.