EPITHELIOMA CUNICULATUM - 2 CASE-REPORTS

The authors report on two cases of epithelioma cuniculatum (EC) locali zed on the heel and the leg amputation stump in a 60-year-old woman af fected by pes equino varus and in an 84-year-old man with a poorly fit ting prosthesis respectively. The histologic pictures in both cases sh owed a hyperkeratotic, vegetating, papillomatous, exo-endophytic, epid ermal tumor consisting of pallid, well-differentiated keratinocytes, d evoid of cellular anaplasia and with a low mitotic activity confined t o the basal region, EC is an unusual, well-differentiated squamous cel l carcinoma most often located on the soles, with a slow, compressing and relentless local growth. The authors support the inducing mechanic al-compressive role of weight bearing on a skin surface with striking hyperplastic epithelial reactivity, while the oncogenic potential of h uman papillomavirus in EC is still unclear and needs further studies.