Vulvar Basal Cell Carcinoma: Four Case Reports With Immunohistochemical Study

• Published in: Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 457 - 459
• Main Authors: García-de-la-Fuente, Mª Reyes, Santacana, Maria, Vilardell, Felip, Pujol, R. M., Gari, Eloi, Casanova, J. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-09-2017; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Basal Cell - pathology; Case reports; Female; Humans; Keratin-19 - metabolism; Keratin-7 - metabolism; Middle Aged; Skin cancer; Skin Neoplasms - metabolism; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Vulvar Neoplasms - metabolism; Vulvar Neoplasms - pathology; basal cell carcinoma; hair follicle; cytokeratins; apocrine glands
• ISSN: 1203-4754; 1615-7109
• DOI: 10.1177/1203475417712498

Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) are the most frequent tumours in humans and normally appear in photoexposed areas of the skin. It is widely accepted that BCCs originate at follicular stem cells and consequently are very rare in nonhairy areas. Here, we report 4 cases of vulvar BCC, 3 of which were located in a vulvar semimucous area, a nonphotoexposed area, and a nonhairy area. We have determined the CK7 and CK19 profile of all cases; both are markers of simple epithelium with glandular differentiation. Interestingly, all cases were positively stained for CK7 and CK19. Considering that the vulvar region is rich in sebaceous and apocrine units, we hypothesise a glandular origin of BCCs situated in the vulvar region.