Dermoscopic criteria of squamous cell carcinoma in relation to clinical variant and histopathologic differentiation grade

Abstract

Background Although the dermoscopic criteria of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have been formerly described, little is known about the variance of those criteria according to the SCC clinical and histopathologic features. Objective To analyze the dermoscopic criteria of SCC and relate those criteria to the clinical variant and the histopathologic differentiation grade. Patients and methods This study included 16 patients with 17 lesions confirmed by histopathologic examination as invasive SCC. Patients’ demographics and clinical characteristics of lesions were reported. The dermoscopic criteria were studied and were related to the clinical variant and the histopathologic differentiation grade. Results Keratin and scales were more observed in well-differentiated SCC especially nodular and noduloulcerative lesions with diffuse and central distribution. Alternatively, ulceration and hemorrhage were detected more in moderately differentiated lesions especially noduloulcerative and ulcerative lesions. Well-differentiated lesions showed mainly linear, irregular vessels, while moderately differentiated lesions showed equally linear irregular vessels and coiled vessels. Nodular lesions showed mainly coiled vessels, while noduloulcerative and ulcerative lesions showed predominantly linear irregular vessels. White clues were more observed in well-differentiated lesions, with a predominant white to yellow background, and in nodular lesions. White to yellow color predominated in noduloulcerative lesions while combined color predominated in ulcerative lesions and in moderately differentiated lesions. Conclusion Dermoscopic criteria differ among the clinical SCC variants reflecting different histopathologic differentiation grades that could be linked to the clinical variant.