Cornu cutaneum at an unusual site

Abstract

Cutaneous horn (cornu cutaneum) is a clinical diagnosis referring to a conical projection above the surface of the skin that resembles a miniature horn. The base of the horn may be flat, nodular or crateriform. The horn is composed of compacted keratin. Various histologic lesions have been documented at the base of the keratin mound and histological confirmation is often necessary to rule out malignant changes. Tenderness at the base of the lesion and lesions of larger size favour malignancy. Malignancy is present in 16-20% of the cases with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common type. We report a young male patient with a keratin horn on the right index finger tip.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma Presenting as Cutaneous Horn : A Case Report

“…Cutaneous horn (CH), known by the Latin name (Cornu Cutaneum), is a rare and uncommon skin lesions. It was first described by Kaposi [4] . The term horn is a morphologic designation referring to well-defined, cone-shaped, hyperkeratotic nodule that project above the surface of the skin, ranging in size from a few millimeters to many centimeters that resembles a miniature horn [1][2][3][4][5] .…”

“…Treatment of the horn depends on the underlying cause. Malignancy is present in 16-20% of cases, with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common [2][3][4][5][6][7] .…”

“…The histopathology of horn is unique in its vertically oriented column of massive hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis and variable acanthosis usually in association with atypical keratinocytes of an actinic keratosis [2] . Other lesions that are associated with cutaneous horns include such seborrheic keratosis, histocytoma, viral warts, molluscum contagiosum, epithelial neoplasms especially tricholemmomas, Bowen's disease, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), Basel cell carcinoma, granular cell tumor, metastatic renal carcinoma, sebaceous carcinoma or Kaposi sarcoma [1][2][3][4][5] .…”

Giant cutaneous horn in an African woman: a case report

“…A sizeable number of people with cutaneous horns have been reported in the medical literature, almost entirely among Caucasians from Europe [ 1 - 4 ], with a few additional reports emanating from Turkey [ 5 , 6 ]. The rarity of this condition in other races and regions is evidenced from the occasional reports from India [ 7 - 9 ] (Asia) and Sudan [ 10 ] (Africa). The report from Sudan was from the Arab North.…”