Keloids and hypertrophic scars after surgery in cancer patients

After a dermal injury, the biochemical process of wound repair initiates a complex series of events that results in the deposition of a collagen-rich matrix. In certain individuals, the repair process may be pathologic and result in large, raised collagenous scars known as keloids or hypertrophic scars, both characterized by excessive collagen deposition. The two key differences between keloid and hypertrophic scar are the 'time-line' and the association with contraction. The pathogenesis of keloids is complex and involves both genetic and environmental factors. Although there is no single definitive treatment modality, there are numerous therapeutic regiments that have been described. In our own experience the application of 24 hours per day pressure therapy, especially for hypertrophic facial burns scars, during an eighteen months period, has proven to be effective and we have published the good results of brachytherapy for the treatment of keloids of variable origin. A broad revue of the literature about keloids shows that there is no publication demonstrating an increased risk to develop keloids after cancer surgery but well an increased risk of infection and wound healing delay because of the immune and nutritional status of the patient and those are two important risk factors for the development of keloid scars. © 2012 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ch.b