Abstract
“Giant” is sometimes used to describe large tumorous lesions of the skin. However, there has been no clear definition of “giant” so far. I circulated a questionnaire of the use of “giant” among members of the Japanese Skin Cancer Society and obtained 501 answers out of 1, 182.
224 members replied that they had an image of “giant” tumors if the tumors were beyond 10cm in diameter, but 118 members wrote that they had different opinions. They wrote that “giant” may differ from tumor to tumor. Some wrote that “giant” has a bad image, and I agree that this should be taken into consideration in describing the diagnosis on charts or in obtaining informed consents from patients. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2005; 20: 8-13]
