The five-year cure rate achieved by cryosurgery for skin cancer.

Cryosurgery was used to treat 3540 new basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin from 1971 to 1989; a cure rate of 98.4% was achieved. To determine the 5-year cure rate in more recent years, the results of treatment of 684 nonmelanotic skin cancers from 1980 to 1984 were reviewed. In the group of 628 basal cell carcinomas, the 5-year cure rate was 99.0%. In the group of 52 squamous cell carcinomas, the 5-year cure rate was 96.1%. In the series were also four patients with basosquamous cell carcinomas, all of whom were recurrence free for 5 years or more. The overall 5-year cure rate in the 684 cases was 98.8%. On the basis of these data and our cosmetic results, we conclude that cryosurgery is an effective treatment that compares favorably with other established methods of therapy.