Association of cutaneous malignancy with epidermodysplasia verruciformis: a clinicopathological study

Objective To find out presence of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in a series of 13 patients with diagnosis of epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EDV). Methods This prospective descriptive study detailed the clinical presentation of patients with EDV associated with nonmelanoma cutaneous malignancy between 2007 and 2010 presenting to Dermatology OPD Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Patients were diagnosed on clinical basis. Patients with all ages and both sexes were included. Skin biopsies were taken from lesions with suspicion of malignancy, stained with hematoxylin and eosin and studied in collaboration with histopathologist. Different histopathological findings were recorded and results analyzed. Results 13 cases were studied for presence of NMSC. NMSC were found in 3 (23%) out of 13 patients. Actinic keratosis was found in 2 patients and one patient had seborrheic keratosis with suspicious lesions. Conclusion The clinically suspicious lesions should always be biopsied, as cutaneous malignancy is a well-known, frequent and serious complication of EDV and there is high potential in these patients to develop premalignant conditions.