-Case Reports-

Two Cases of Verrucous Carcinoma: Revisiting the Definition

Ai Shimizu, Toshihiko Hoashi, Kasho Kataoka, Noriko Shirakawa, Nobuko Mayumi, Yoko Funasaka and Hidehisa Saeki

Department of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan

Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is an uncommon, distinct type of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Here we present two cases of VC, one arising from the lower leg and the other from genital skin. Case 1, a female patient, aged 95 years, had a brownish verrucous plaque on her right lower leg. Histopathologically, epithelial tumor cells grew pushing the stroma, while the basement membrane was intact. No prominent cellular atypia or hyperchromatin was found. Case 2, a male patient, aged 53 years, had a verrucous plaque at the border between his scrotum and inner aspect of his thigh. A pathological diagnosis of VC was made using an excisional specimen. Making a definitive diagnosis of VC is challenging but crucial. Pathological diagnosis using a small specimen might cause underdiagnosis or overdiagnosis. To avoid this, pertinent pathological diagnosis using an ample specimen is required. We also revisited the definition of VC to precisely understand its nature.

J Nippon Med Sch 2018; 85: 47-50

Keywords
verrucous carcinoma, fibrovascular core, basement membrane, benign condyloma, squamous cell carcinoma

Correspondence to
Toshihiko Hoashi, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
thoashi-tky@umin.ac.jp

Received, August 25, 2017
Accepted, September 4, 2017