Opinion statement The mainstay treatment of localized non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is surgical excision or Mohs surgery. However, approximately 5% of patients with NMSC harbor high-risk clinicopathologic features for loco-regional recurrence, and distant metastasis. Prognostic factors such as close or positive margins, tumor size ≥ 2 cm, poor tumor differentiation, perineural invasion, depth of invasion, and immunosuppression have all been associated with increased loco-regional recurrence and impaired survival rates. In these patients more aggressive treatments are needed and radiotherapy (RT) is often discussed as adjuvant therapy after surgical resection. Due to the retrospective setting and the heterogeneity of the available studies, indications for adjuvant RT in patients with localized resected NMSC harboring high-risk features remain debated. Studies highlighting the limitations of our current understanding of the independent prognosis of each risk factor are needed to better define the role of adjuvant RT on outcome of localized NMSC and standardize its indications in the clinical setting.

In the 1980s, villages in the Kurdistan region of Iraq were exposed to chemical weapons (CWs), which killed and injured thousands of civilians. There has been no clinical assessment of the long-term effects of CWs exposure on those injured. We report the first such evaluation of CW effects on long-term health of children. Patients from the CW-exposed areas were interviewed to assess previous and current clinical history and underwent clinical examination. The status of organs known to be targets of CWs, including skin, eyes, respiratory and neuromuscular systems, was assessed. Children of similar age and social background, but with no history of CW exposure, were selected as a control population. Results showed that 70% of children in the CWs group had chronic health problems in contrast to 3.3% in the unexposed group (p < 0.0001). Fifty-five per cent of the CWexposed group had long-term visual impairment but none in the unexposed population. Thirty-six per cent of the CW-exposed group had chronic dermatological conditions compared with 0.8% of the unexposed group (p < 0.0001), 31% of the CWs group had neurological sequelae compared with 0.4% of the unexposed group (p < 0.0001) and 51% of the CWs group had long-term respiratory problems compared with 1.5% of the unexposed group (p < 0.0001). Respiratory complaints including asthma, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis were particularly common. Our study suggests that CWs used were probably a combination of sulphur mustard and organophosphate nerve agents. Results also indicate that the prevalence of acute and chronic health problems following exposure to CW agents appear to be higher in children compared with reported data in adults.