Foreign body reactions may not influence the keloid recurrence

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Pathology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Foreign body reactions, involving macrophages and giant cells, are implicated as recurrence risk factors in various conditions.
• Auricular keloids, often resulting from ear piercing, present a challenge due to potential recurrence after treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between pathologically confirmed foreign body reactions and the recurrence rate of auricular keloids.
• To determine if the presence of foreign body reactions in keloid tissue can predict post-surgical recurrence.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 70 patients with pathologically diagnosed auricular keloids (76 cases) underwent surgical excision with primary closure.
• Patients were selected based on keloid origin (ear piercing), pathological confirmation, and no prior treatments.
• Fisher's exact tests analyzed recurrence rates based on the presence or absence of foreign body reactions, with an 18-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• The overall recurrence rate for auricular keloids was 9.2% (7 out of 76 cases).
• Among the seven recurrent keloids, two (28.6%) exhibited foreign body reactions, while five (71.4%) did not.
• The difference in recurrence rates between keloids with and without foreign body reactions was not statistically significant (P = 0.092).

Conclusions:

• The detection of foreign body reactions in auricular keloid tissue does not appear to be a reliable predictor of recurrence.
• Further research may be needed to identify definitive predictive factors for auricular keloid recurrence.