Limb amputation for squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: factors involved in this poor evolution.

Objective: To analyze retrospectively a series of cases culminating in amputation for advanced squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: We studied eight patients with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that had limbs amputated by tumor invasion at our institution between 2005 and 2008. We evaluated the histological factors and the institutional and psychosocial factors that contributed to this unfavorable outcome.