Reliability of Incision Biopsy for Diagnosis of Oral Verrucous Carcinoma: A Multivariate Clinicopathological Study

[Rare cancers of the head and neck on behalf of the REFCOR, part 1]

Among the 16,000 new cases of malignant tumors of the head and neck diagnosed in France each year, 10% are not conventional squamous cell carcinomas. These so-called rare cancers are distinguished by their presentation and patterns of failure, which is important to recognize in order to offer specific adapted management and maximize the chances of tumor control. These cancers can be rare by their histology, which determines their local invasiveness, and their hematogenous/nodal spread. Their diagnosis can be difficult and often requires comprehensive immunohistochemistry and genomic techniques. Expert pathology review is recommended in the cases of undifferentiated tumors, sarcomas and at the slightest diagnostic doubt. These rare cancers can also be rare by their anatomical location when arising from the paranasal sinuses, salivary glands and ear. Their location requires knowledge of their specific extension routes, and may call for a specific surgical technique (skull base endoscopic sinus surgery, extended total parotidectomy, etc.) and adapted radiotherapy to spare healthy organs surrounding the tumor. This article (part 1) discusses the diagnostic and therapeutic specificities of these rare cancers, and develops the recommendations of the French ENT Cancer Expertise Network (REFCOR) concerning rare epithelial tumors, i.e., salivary tumors, sinonasal tumors, variants of conventional squamous cell carcinomas, neuroendocrine carcinomas, malignant odontogenic tumors, and ear tumors. A second article (part 2) is focused on non-epithelial tumors (sarcomas, mucosal melanomas, lymphomas, tumors of uncertain or undetermined malignancy) and describes the organization and missions of the REFCOR.

Oral verrucous carcinoma: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

BACKGROUND

Verrucous carcinoma is a low-grade variant of squamous cell carcinoma with specific morphologic, cytokinetic and clinical features. Despite low mitotic activity and slow growth, it can infiltrate adjacent tissues in advanced stages but does not metastasize. The most frequently affected site is the oral cavity. The following article provides latest updates in the etiology, clinical presentation, diagnostics and treatment options in oral verrucous carcinoma and discusses the existing dilemmas linked to this unique malignancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral verrucous carcinoma must be differentiated from conventional squamous cell carcinoma due to its less aggressive behaviour with a more favourable prognosis. Close communication between clinician and pathologist is mandatory for making a correct diagnosis. Primary surgery with negative surgical margins seems to be the most successful treatment. However, management recommendations are not uniform since they are mostly based on case reports and small retrospective case series. Prospective and pooled multi-institutional studies are therefore needed.

Protocol for Treatment of Oral Verrucous Carcinoma - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

The objective of this study is to provide a structured protocol for the treatment of verrucous carcinoma (VC) based on size, bone invasion, recurrence and whether neck dissection is necessary or not. In addition, the study evaluates the probability of a wrong histopathological diagnosis.

Data Sources

A search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed and Google from January 1962 to October 2022 by using MeSH terms and keywords. Studies reporting treatment modalities for VC and different histopathological diagnoses after excision of the lesion were selected except case reports and review articles.

Study Eligibility Criteria

Thirteen articles were selected. Six hundred and thirty cases of VC were treated by surgery, surgery + neck dissection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and combination therapy. Statistical analysis revealed surgical treatment as a preferred option. Despite being enlarged, the lymph node was negative for metastasis. So, in OVC cases neck dissection adds only unnecessary morbidity to patients.

Participants and Interventions

Radiotherapy or chemotherapy can be used to downstage the disease. 23.3% of cases reported wrong histopathology diagnosis.

Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods

Patients treated for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) will only experience unnecessary morbidity unless the correct diagnosis is made between VC and hybrid VC. Irrespective of size VC does not metastasise until there are no foci of SCC.

Conclusions

Surgical excision of T1- and T2-sized lesions can be performed under local anaesthetic as a biopsy procedure. T3 or T4 lesion can be resected with a safe margin. If it comes as hybrid VC or VC with close margin (0.5 cm, <0.5 cm), neck dissection and further margin should be excised as a second procedure respectively.

Cervical verrucous cancer misdiagnosed with verrucous hyperplasia: A case report

Background

There are many different variants of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a rare and highly differentiated SCC. Due to its preference of local invasion, regional lymphatic involvement rarely occurs. VC is difficult to diagnose using conventional pap smear or cervical punch biopsy, in which adequate stroma including bulbous rete pegs is required for a definitive diagnosis. Surgical management is recommended as the first-line treatment with radiotherapy forbidden due to the risk of anaplastic transformation.

Case report

We presented a 59-year-old Taiwanese female who had postmenopausal bleeding for three months with two consecutive normal pap smear and biopsy at other hospital. Pelvic examination showed a necrotic fungating cervical mass with upper 1/3 vaginal involvement. Colposcopic guided cervical biopsy and fractional dilatation and curettage revealed verrucous hyperplasia (VH) with negative high-risk HPV typing. Pelvic 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was arranged, and a 3.7 × 3.6 × 4.0 cm necrotic mass at the cervix with an enlarged left pelvic lymph node was found. Positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) demonstrated avid uptake at the cervix and left pelvic lymph node. Surgical intervention was performed due to highly suspicious of cervical verrucous carcinoma with positive pelvic lymph node. The final pathologic report was a well-differentiated verrucous carcinoma, IIA2 by International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) classification.

Conclusion

VC is difficult to diagnose preoperatively, and surgical excision is recommended as the first-line treatment.

A new scoring system facilitating diagnosis of oral squamous malignancy on biopsy specimens

BACKGROUND

Morphological evaluation of oral mucosal biopsy is sometimes inconclusive, which may delay the diagnosis and treatment of oral squamous malignancy. Immunohistochemical biomarkers denoting oral squamous malignancy would be clinically helpful in such scenario.

METHODS

We first studied the expression patterns of four potential biomarkers (cytokeratin 13, cytokeratin 17, Ki-67 and laminin 5 gamma 2 chain) in an exploratory cohort containing 54 surgical specimens from confirmed oral squamous malignancies. A pattern score was assigned to each specific expression pattern of these four biomarkers. A total score from each specimen was then calculated by summing up the four pattern scores. A cut-off value of total score denoting oral squamous malignancy was then determined. Another 34 oral squamous malignancies that were misdiagnosed as non-malignant lesions on their pre-treatment biopsies were used as a validation cohort to test the clinical utility of this scoring system.

RESULTS

In the exploratory cohort, fifty-two (96%) of the 54 confirmed oral squamous malignancies had a total score of 9 and above. In the validation cohort, thirty-one (91%) of the 34 pre-treatment oral biopsy specimens also had a total score of 9 or above, supporting the feasibility of using this scoring system to predict immediate risk of oral squamous malignancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our four-biomarker "oral squamous malignancy scoring system" provides reliable prediction for immediate risk of oral squamous malignancy on pre-treatment oral biopsies.

Nascent verrucous hyperplasia - A transition to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a common global cancer with Ultraviolet light recognized as the most significant risk factor. The other definite or plausible risk factors include immunosuppression, infection with oncogenic viruses, exposure to toxins, chemicals, chronic inflammatory skin disease and a high body mass index.

This case highlights the rarity of the pathology in terms of size, the subtle transition of verrucous hyperplasia to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma over a period of time and the fallibility of the frozen section report in deciding the optimum resection margins. The initial innocuous presentation represented a diagnostic challenge as it can be mistaken for other benign entities. A correlation between the history, clinical presentation, tumor biology and the histopathological characteristics helped us to unlock the jigsaw puzzle of approaching a rare condition with a modification in the surgical approach.

Epidemiology and survival outcomes of sinonasal verrucous carcinoma in the United States

INTRODUCTION

Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a rare, variant of squamous cell carcinoma with benign cytohistopathologic features and a generally favorable prognosis. Epidemiologic and clinical outcomes data are lacking as a result of limited cases of sinonasal VC.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the incidence and determinants of survival of patients with verrucous carcinoma of the sinonasal tract between the years of 1973 to 2014 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

METHODS

The SEER registry was utilized to calculate survival trends for patients with verrucous carcinoma of the sinonasal tract between 1973 and 2014. Patient data then was analyzed with respect to age, sex, race, and treatment modalities (surgery and radiation therapy). Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 86 cases of VC of the sinonasal tract were identified. The cohort was comprised of 69.8% males. The mean age at diagnosis was 67.4 years. The nasal cavity was the most common primary site (51.2%), followed by the maxillary sinus (40.7%) and nasopharynx (5.8%). The median OS was 97.6 months. 89.5% of cases underwent surgery and 20.9% received both surgery and radiation therapy. Overall survival at 2, 5, and 10 years was 73%, 59%, and 36%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, advanced age (P < 0.05) and primary site (P < 0.05) were associated with worse OS and DSS, respectively. Primary nasopharyngeal tumor site was associated with reduced DSS (P < 0.05). Surgery improved OS (P < 0.001) and DSS (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Verrucous carcinoma of the sinonasal tract is associated with a generally favorable prognosis. Age, primary site, and surgical therapy are independent predictors of OS and DSS, respectively. We present the first population-based analysis of sinonasal VC, thus clarifying the prognosis and reinforcing the management of this malignancy.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4. Laryngoscope, 128:651-656, 2017.

Good Prognosis Went Badly: Fulminant Evolution of a 29-Year-Old Patient with Verrucous Carcinoma of the Cervix

Verrucous carcinoma (VC) is a very rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, difficult to point out in histology because of its benign appearance. We present the case of a 29-year-old woman with a locally advanced cervical VC who underwent radiotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy. After local relapse and despite pelvic exenteration, her condition deteriorated. Treatment of choice in VC is surgery, because of the risk of anaplastic transformation under irradiation, raising the chances of distant spread and converting this rather benign-like type of cancer to an aggressive cancer.

Oral Verrucous Carcinoma: Ten Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Background

Verrucous carcinoma of the oral cavity (OVC) is an uncommon variant of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The clinical presentation and surgical outcomes of OVC are unique; however, the management protocols for OVC are largely extrapolated from OSCC.

Objectives

The aim is to study the clinical, histopathological demographics, and outcome of OVC at a tertiary care referral hospital in South India. To study the need for lymph node dissection and the role of adjuvant therapy for close resection margins.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective review of all patients diagnosed to have OVC between January 2005 and April 2015 was undertaken. Data were collected from hospital records and telephonic interview when possible.

Results

Thirty patients were diagnosed to have OVC. The most common site of the presentation was the buccal mucosa. Twenty-three patients had wide local excision of the primary tumor and seven patients had neck dissection as well. None of the patients who underwent neck dissection had node-positive disease pathologically. The margins were considered close in nine patients, only one of these patients received adjuvant radiation therapy; despite among the patients with close resection margins, there was no recurrence or disease-related mortality. Among the thirty patients, there was only one patient who had recurred locally and there was no disease associated mortality.

Conclusions

OVC is a unique variant of OSCC which has a good prognosis. Routine lymphadenectomy can be avoided.

Oral verrucous carcinoma: From multifactorial etiology to diverse treatment regimens (Review)

Oral verrucous carcinoma (OVC) is a verrucous variant of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which accounts for 2-12% of all oral carcinomas with a 5-year survival rate of only approximately 50%. Enormous effort has been dedicated to this cancer, and the past decades have witnessed significant advances in relevant diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Currently, there exist three challenges from primary sub-fields of research and clinical practice of the cancer, namely multifactorial etiology, complex molecular mechanism, and deficient treatment. This study reviews the existing literature on the cancer, encompassing its etiology, clinical manifestations and pathology, molecular mechanism, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, and treatment. For improved treatment of OVC, multifactorial etiology analysis, incorporation of effective biomarkers for mechanism illustration, and integration of multidisciplinary modalities are expounded, in an attempt to resolve the challenges and to provide a useful guide for future research in the field.