A cutaneous horn – benign or malignant?

Dermatologic Surgery, 2012

... Additional Information. How to Cite. Sathyanarayana, SA, Deutsch, GB, Edelman, M. and Cohen-Kashi, KJ (2011), Cutaneous Horn: A Malignant Lesion? A Brief Review of the Literature. Dermatologic Surgery. ... Correspondence: Sandeep Anantha Sathyanarayana MD, Surgery. ...

Cureus, 2020

Cutaneous horns are uncommon lesions that occur as conical projections in various sunexposed parts of the body. They are made of hyperkeratotic material and look similar to animal horns. These lesions lack a central bony core that differentiates them from the animal horns. They are frequently associated with various benign, premalignant, and malignant lesions, and therefore carry a clinical significance. We present a case of a 58-year-old gentleman who presented with a conical projection over the center of the forehead, which was clinically diagnosed as a cutaneous horn. Excision of the horn along with the base was done, and the histopathology revealed benign seborrheic keratosis as the underlying lesion. The excision of small lesions along with their bases or biopsy of the base of large lesions is of paramount importance in the management of cutaneous horns.

World journal of surgical oncology, 2004

Cutaneous horns (cornu cutaneum) are uncommon lesions consisting of keratotic material resembling that of an animal horn. Cutaneous horn may arise from a wide range of the epidermal lesions, which may be benign, premalignant or malignant. In this respective study, we describe our experience of eleven patients with cutaneous horn treated at our centre between January 2000 and January 2004. The clinical, pathological and treatment details were extracted from the case records. Data is presented as frequency distribution. There were 8 male and 3 female patients with a median age of 57 years. Most of the lesions were located on the ear, hand and scalp. Surgical resection was carried out in all the lesions. There were two cases of squamous cell carcinoma, and one case of basal cell carcinoma, other 8 cases were benign. None of the lesions recurred and no adjuvant treatment was given to any of the malignant lesions. Cutaneous horn is a clinical diagnosis that refers to a conical projection...

Journal of Clinical Urology

A cutaneous horn, cornu cutaneum, is a hard, conical projection composed of compacted keratin that resembles the horns of animals. They commonly occur on sun-exposed areas, including the head, ears, forearms and hands. Cutaneous horns are extremely rare. Although most are benign in nature, a significant portion may harbour a malignant or pre-malignant lesion, and histopathological analysis of the base of the lesion is imperative to categorise it as one of benign aetiology or one of a more sinister pathology. We present a case of a 46-year-old male who presented with a 2-month history of a painless, firm, rapidly growing conical projection arising from his scrotum. Clinically, a non-tender curved, yellow-brown, horn-like projection was observed arising from the median raphe of his scrotum. With informed consent, a full-thickness excision, with adequate excision of the base of the horn, was performed under local anaesthesia. Macroscopically, the exophytic keratinous lesion was 7.5 cm ...

Acta chirurgiae plasticae, 2010

Cutaneous horn, a clinical manifestation of hyper-proliferation of compact keratin, can represent a wide array of underlying benign and malignant pathologies. Here we report a unique case of a giant cutaneous horn (7x4x3 cm) that developed on a chronic ulcer in a non sun-exposed area. This case presented challenges in terms of diagnosis and treatment. We also review the literature about this rare condition.

Case Reports in Otolaryngology, 2020

Background A cutaneous horn is a common clinical entity which usually presents as a cutaneous lesion. Because of its subtle nature, patients usually tend to present late unless the lesion is big or complications develop. Because of its resemblance to animal horn, it has been given the term “horn.” Cutaneous horn seems to have a remarkable history. Though cutaneous horn is benign most of the times, chances of malignancy (20–25%) should be kept in mind. Old age, giant cutaneous horn carries more chances of transformation into malignancy like in our case. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment is required in all cases. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 74-year-old farmer with a cutaneous projection measuring ∼8 × 5 × 3 cm3 over the medial surface of the right pinna for 1 year. It started as a small projection which was progressively enlarging. The primary reason behind him presenting to us was cosmetic reason since it resembled an animal horn. The projection was not associated with pain or similar lesions anywhere else in body. Understanding the malignancy risks and the cosmetic benefits, he was planned for excision biopsy of the horn. He had no systemic signs of malignancy. Histopathological reports were consistent with malignancy. Conclusions Cutaneous horns are usually benign lesions and mostly found in the head and neck region. Because of the chances of malignancy, cutaneous horns should undergo surgical removal and biopsy for early and definitive diagnosis and management.

Orbit, 2012

Purpose: The primary objective of the study was to determine the incidence of the various pathological conditions present at the base of the periocular cutaneous horns. The secondary objective was to study the presentation of these cutaneous horns with a view to finding any clinical indicators for premalignant, malignant and benign lesions at the base. Methods: Prospective multicentre study of patients presenting with cutaneous horns. Informed consent followed by excision biopsy of the base lesion was performed in all the cases included for the study. The biopsy specimens were examined histologically and results analysed. Results: Twenty-six patients presented with cutaneous horns in the periocular region over a period of 2 years, of these two patients presented with more than one cutaneous horn. 23 patients underwent excision biopsy. There were a total of 25 specimens. Of the base lesions 2/25 (8%) were malignant, 7/25 (28%) were pre-malignant and the remaining 16/25 (64%) were benign. Analysis of the findings on clinical presentation revealed no clinical indicators to correlate with the final histology. Conclusion: The incidence of malignant and pre-malignant lesions present at the base of periocular cutaneous horns was 36% with 8% of them being malignant. It is important to perform an excision biopsy with histological diagnosis of the base of the cutaneous horn as there are no definite clinical features that point towards a potential for malignancy.

https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR_Vol.10_Issue.8_Aug2020/IJHSR_Abstract.033.html, 2020

Cutaneous horn is a dense hyperkeratotic conical projection of the epidermis that resembles like an animal horn. This was a rare case which presented with a horn like structure arising over the anterolateral aspect of right thigh. The structure was excised surgically with resection margin and sent for histopathology examination. The revealed no evidence of malignancy. The patient recovered completely without any complications. It has both medical and social implications. Early treatment with wide surgical excision and histopathological examination is necessary to rule out malignancy.

Cureus

Cutaneous horns are uncommon skin tumors consisting of keratotic material infrequently found on eyelids. We report the case of a 65-year-old male with a two-month history of cutaneous horn arising from the right lower eyelid. Histopathological examination following the excision biopsy disclosed a keratotic basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Basal cell carcinomas are slow-growing lesions with a history ranging from months to years. The keratotic form of BCC is a less common presentation of a cutaneous horn. A cutaneous horn is usually derived from an underlying lesion that may be benign, premalignant, or malignant. The diagnostic dexterity of keratotic BCC emphasizes the importance of histopathological confirmation in establishing the diagnosis and modifying management. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a keratotic BCC masquerading as a small cutaneous horn with such a short duration.

International Surgery Journal, 2021

Cutaneous horn is a conical, circumscribed, dense hyperkeratotic protrusion from skin with epithelial cornification. It is also known by the Latin name ‘Cornu cutaneum’. This rare medical entity resembles animal horn but histological disparity is present between both. They are more commonly present in sun exposed sites or areas that are prone for actinic radiation, burns and hence frequently seen in forearm and upper part of face. Only few cases have been reported with cutaneous horns in unusual sites. Cutaneous horns occurring in oral cavity or perioral regions are extremely rare. The significance of knowing about this dead keratinous cutaneous horn is that it may occur as a part of or in association with a wide range of underlying pathologies, either malignant, premalignant or benign. Majority are due to benign pathologies. We report an unusual presentation of cutaneous horn in left oral commissure of a 45-year-old gentleman which is an extremely rare perioral location for such an...