Verrucous Carcinoma in a Giant Cutaneous Horn: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Background.A cutaneous horn is a common clinical entity which usually presents as a cutaneous lesion. Because of its subtle nature, patients usually tend to present late unless the lesion is big or complications develop. Because of its resemblance to animal horn, it has been given the term "horn." Cutaneous horn seems to have a remarkable history. ough cutaneous horn is benign most of the times, chances of malignancy (20-25%) should be kept in mind. Old age, giant cutaneous horn carries more chances of transformation into malignancy like in our case. us, early diagnosis and treatment is required in all cases. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 74-year-old farmer with a cutaneous projection measuring ∼8 × 5 × 3 cm 3 over the medial surface of the right pinna for 1 year. It started as a small projection which was progressively enlarging. e primary reason behind him presenting to us was cosmetic reason since it resembled an animal horn. e projection was not associated with pain or similar lesions anywhere else in body. Understanding the malignancy risks and the cosmetic benefits, he was planned for excision biopsy of the horn. He had no systemic signs of malignancy. Histopathological reports were consistent with malignancy. Conclusions. Cutaneous horns are usually benign lesions and mostly found in the head and neck region. Because of the chances of malignancy, cutaneous horns should undergo surgical removal and biopsy for early and definitive diagnosis and management.

Efficacy of cryotherapy in the treatment of cutaneous horn associated with papillomatosis in a dog

“…In human medicine, cryosurgery can be an alternative to conventional surgery, so long as a part of the lesion is sent for histopathological examination, owing to overlap in appearance with other neoplasms, 6 as was done in in the present case. Cryotherapy as used herein, with application in the lesion bed after surgical removal of the apical portion, showed good efficacy without adverse effects.…”

A rare case report of graft-versus-host disease–related cutaneous horns of the lower lip

“…When surgical excision of cutaneous horns is attempted, adequate section margins (3-10 mm) are required due to the association with underlying malignancy, and subsequent histopathological evaluation is indispensable. 1 , 2 , 14 , 15 Alternative treatments include electrocautery, cryotherapy, and laser surgery. However, these treatments are inferior because they do not result in an available specimen for histopathological examination.…”

A Curious Case of Cutaneous Horn

“…The diagnosis is mostly clinical, and they are usually seen in association with several benign and malignant lesions at their bases. The horn being just an epidermal outgrowth of dead keratin is of little significance, but a striking aspect of this lesion is the underlying condition at its base which may be benign (seborrheic keratosis, keratotic acanthoma, viral wart, trichelemmoma, etc), premalignant (Bowen's disease, solar keratosis), or malignant (verrucous carcinoma [ 9 ], squamous cell carcinoma [ 10 ], basal cell carcinoma [ 11 ], epidermoid carcinoma, malignant melanoma) [ 3 ].…”