Carcinoma Cuniculatum of the Larynx

Abstract

Carcinoma cuniculatum (CC) is a rare, distinct clinico-pathological variant of squamous cell carcinoma. Histologically it is characterized by a branching invasive growth of bland acanthotic and keratinizing squamous epithelium forming multiple, rabbit burrow-like keratin-filled crypts and sinuses. We present here a 51-year-old smoker man with a CC of the left vocal cord. The tumor was staged IA and the patient was disease-free 10 months after surgery. To our knowledge, this is the fourth case of CC of the larynx to be reported in the English literature and the first in which, for the early diagnosis, radical surgical procedures were not performed. Drawing the attention to the clinicopathologic features of CC, we highlight that awareness of this entity and strict cooperation between otolaryngologists, radiologists and pathologists are needed for an early diagnosis that is imperative for organ-spare surgical treatment.

Histomorphology and Molecular Profiling of Well-Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus Including its Unusual Variants

“…Carcinoma cuniculatum was first described in the skin as a variant of squamous cell carcinoma peculiar to the foot. 63 Subsequently, non-cutaneous carcinoma cuniculatum cases have been reported in many different organ systems, including the esophagus, 53,[64][65][66][67][68] head, neck, [69][70][71][72][73] cervix, 74 and penis. 75 Carcinoma cuniculatum was initially considered to be a special type of VC.…”