Squamous cell carcinoma presenting as subcutaneous nodules.
Four patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) presenting as subcutaneous nodules of the head were referred for Mohs micrographic surgery. In each case initial histologic sections showed no connection between the tumor and epidermis, raising the possibility that each was a metastasis from an occult SCC. Careful searches for occult SCCs were unrevealing. Subsequent step sections through the entire tumors revealed narrow connections to the overlying epidermis in three of the four cases.
Howe
N R
NR
Department of Dermatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
Lang
P G
PG
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology; D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005546:Forehead; D006801:Humans; D008048:Lip Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology