Malignant tumours of the hand and wrist

Malignant tumours are rare in the hand and wrist. The clinical presentation may be similar to that of a benign lesion and a high index of suspicion is necessary so that such lesions are not missed by the treating surgeon. Out of a total of 657 tumours/tumour-like lesions of the hand and wrist seen in a tertiary referral centre in a 10-year period, a total of 39 tumours were identified as malignant (5.9%) and of which majority had origin from the skin (53.8%). The management of these tumours is primarily surgical. Limb salvage surgery may be applied when appropriate, though eradication of disease should be the primary goal rather than preservation of function. A multimodal approach is necessary for appropriate management including chemotherapy and radiotherapy.