Studies regarding the neoplastic infiltration of the skin overlying canine subcutaneous soft tissue sarcoma (sSTS) are lacking. In case of the absence of tumor infiltration, there would be the possibility of leaving this unaffected skin in place, thus simplifying surgery. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the skin overlying sSTSs is infiltrated by neoplastic cells. Dogs with sSTSs treated surgically were prospectively enrolled. After excision, the skin was dissected from the tumor along the natural surgical plane of cleavage and histologically evaluated. Twenty‐nine dogs with an sSTS were included (22 grade I, 6 grade II, and 1 grade III). The sSTS‐overlying skin was not tumor‐infiltrated in 14/29 cases (48.3%). A higher frequency of infiltration was observed in higher grade sSTSs (grades II and III, 100%; P = .006); nevertheless, 8/22 grade I sSTSs (36%) also showed cutaneous infiltration. This infiltration involved the dermis of the skin directly in contact with the tumor (multifocal in 11 and diffuse in four cases). Although the cutaneous tumor infiltration is less frequent in grade I sSTSs and a wide excision may still be the safest treatment for any sSTS for a greater possibility of local control, this study opens the possibility to a less aggressive cutaneous excision, but still with a local curative intent, as only the skin directly in contact with the sSTS has been proven to be tumor‐infiltrated. Additional studies are warranted to confirm that excision of only this skin may guarantee a complete local control, especially in lower‐grade sSTSs.

中文翻译：

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犬皮下软组织肉瘤皮肤肿瘤浸润的评估：一项探索性研究

缺乏关于犬皮下软组织肉瘤 (sSTS) 上皮肤肿瘤浸润的研究。在没有肿瘤浸润的情况下，将有可能将未受影响的皮肤留在原位，从而简化手术。该研究的目的是调查覆盖 sSTS 的皮肤是否被肿瘤细胞浸润。前瞻性招募了接受手术治疗的 sSTS 的狗。切除后，沿着切割的自然手术平面从肿瘤上切下皮肤并进行组织学评估。包括 29 只患有 sSTS 的狗（22 只 I 级、6 只 II 级和 1 只 III 级）。14/29 例 (48.3%) 的 sSTS 覆盖的皮肤没有肿瘤浸润。在较高级别的 sSTS 中观察到较高的浸润频率（II 级和 III 级，100%；P = .006); 尽管如此，8/22 的 I 级 sSTS (36%) 也显示出皮肤浸润。这种浸润涉及直接与肿瘤接触的皮肤真皮（11 例为多灶性，4 例为弥漫性）。虽然皮肤肿瘤浸润在 I 级 sSTS 中不太常见，并且广泛切除可能仍然是任何 sSTS 最安全的治疗方法，以提高局部控制的可能性，但这项研究为不太激进的皮肤切除提供了可能性，但仍然有局部控制的可能性。治疗意图，因为只有与 sSTS 直接接触的皮肤已被证明是肿瘤浸润的。有必要进行进一步的研究来证实仅切除该皮肤可以保证完全的局部控制，尤其是在低级别 sSTS 中。