Volume 48, Issue 12 pp. 1514-1519
CASE REPORT

Epidermotropic metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil: A case report with molecular confirmation

Philippa Li

Corresponding Author

Philippa Li

Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Correspondence

Philippa Li, Yale School of Medicine, 20 York Street, Ste East Pavilion (EP) 2-631, New Haven, CT 06510.

Email: [email protected]

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Andrea Barbieri

Andrea Barbieri

Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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Zenta Walther

Zenta Walther

Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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Jennifer McNiff

Jennifer McNiff

Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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Gauri Panse

Gauri Panse

Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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First published: 24 July 2021

Abstract

Metastasis of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to skin is uncommon and portends a poor prognosis. Clinical history and histopathology are key to discerning between metastatic disease vs de novo SCC of the skin. We describe a case of an HPV+ tonsillar SCC in a 77-year-old male, with metastasis to the neck skin. This case is unique because of prominent in situ epidermal involvement on skin biopsy specimen, complicating the distinction between primary and secondary disease. The nature of the lesion was resolved using next-generation sequencing of both the primary oropharyngeal SCC and skin lesion biopsy specimens. Both tumors showed identical ATR D1639G somatic mutations, while the skin lesion contained an additional POLE F1366L mutation. Clonal evolution of metastatic lesions is a well-described phenomenon; comparing the genetic profiles of primary and metastatic specimens can be useful in evaluating the tumor origin as well as identifying targetable genetic aberrations.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

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