Squamous cell carcinoma arising in an epidermal inclusion cyst

Suzanne Alkul; Christopher N Nguyen; Nisha S Ramani; Mahmud Alkul; Ida Orengo; Ikue Shimizu; Bhuvaneswari Krishnan

doi:10.1080/08998280.2022.2077600

Squamous cell carcinoma arising in an epidermal inclusion cyst

Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2022 May 23;35(5):688-690. doi: 10.1080/08998280.2022.2077600. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Suzanne Alkul¹, Christopher N Nguyen², Nisha S Ramani³, Mahmud Alkul⁴, Ida Orengo¹, Ikue Shimizu⁵, Bhuvaneswari Krishnan^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
² Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
³ Department of Pathology, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas.
⁴ School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas.
⁵ Department of Dermatology, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas.

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising from an epidermal inclusion cyst (EIC) is uncommon. We present a case of a 70-year-old man with a scalp nodule with persistent discharge that was resected based on the clinical impression of an EIC. Histopathologic exam showed an infundibular EIC with an epidermal type of squamous epithelium; however, some of the cyst lining and lumen was replaced by squamous proliferation with malignant features. There are 56 cases of SCC arising in EICs reported in the English literature. Though suspected EICs are commonly benign, a thorough pathologic evaluation is required to rule out malignancy.

Keywords: Diagnostic errors; epidermal cyst; neoplastic cell transformation; squamous cell carcinoma.

Publication types

Review