Definition
Carcinoma cuniculatum (CC) is similar to verrucous carcinoma at the surface, but its hallmark is the presence of extensive infiltration of erectile tissues with the formation of sinuses in a characteristic labyrinthine growth pattern similar to tumors originally described in the foot.
Clinical Features
Incidence
This is a very rare tumor with less than ten cases reported in the English literature.
Age
It is a long-standing tumor occurring in the elderly (in men 70–80 years old).
Site
It usually affects glans and extends to coronal sulcus and foreskin. It is morphologically similar to the plantar region reported as epithelioma cuniculatum by Aird (Aird et al. 1954).
Treatment
Partial or total penectomy is the treatment of choice.
Outcome
The prognosis is similar to that of verrucous carcinoma; of the cases reported in the literature, none metastasized (Barreto et al. 2007).
Macroscopy
CC is a bulky, white/gray exophytic tumor: the external surface has granular, multilobed...
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References and Further Reading
Aird, I., Johnson, H. D., Lennox, B., & Stansfeld, A. G. (1954). Epithelioma cuniculatum: A variety of squamous carcinoma peculiar to the foot. The British Journal of Surgery, 42(173), 245–250.
Barreto, J. E., Velazquez, E. F., Ayala, E., Torres, J., & Cubilla, A. L. (2007). Carcinoma cuniculatum: A distinctive variant of penile squamous cell carcinoma: Report of 7 cases. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 31(1), 71–75.
Petersen, C. S., Sjølin, K. E., Rosman, N., & Lindeberg, H. (1994). Lack of human papillomavirus DNA in carcinoma cuniculatum. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 74(3), 231–232.
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Colecchia, M., Bertolotti, A. (2020). Penile Carcinoma Cuniculatum. In: Raspollini, M.R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (eds) Uropathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4879
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41894-6_4879
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