Neoplasms of the External Ear ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the External Ear ; Verrucous Carcinoma of the External Ear.

Most common carcinoma of the external ear, due to exposure to sunlight (insufficiently protected by melanin pigment).

Occasionally it recurs repeatedly with deep extension to the middle ear, mastoid and even to the cranial cavity.

 Visit: Basal Cell Carcinoma ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma ;  Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Image &abstracts).

Carcinomas of the external auditory canal are rare, nevertheless they are associated with a relatively poor prognosis. Among these tumours, basal cell carcinomas are less frequent than squamous cell carcinomas. Anyway, it is difficult to determine if their prognosis is better, as in other localizations on the body. We reviewed six patients, presenting locally advanced basal cell carcinomas of the external auditory canal and considered the history of their disease, the treatment procedures and final oncological outcome. Four of the patients died of the disease within five years from surgery. They presented local recurrences even after radical surgical excision in free tissue margins. From these findings we have the impression that basal cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal behave, even after radical surgery, as an aggressive tumour associated with a really poor prognosis.

Basal cell carcinoma of the earlobe after auricular acupuncture.
Dermatology. 2002;204(2):142-4.

The genesis of familial and sporadic basal cell carcinomas involves activation of the Sonic hedgehog signal transduction pathway. Other known factors for the development of basal cell carcinoma are ultraviolet exposure, X-rays, race, age, gender and decreased DNA repair capacity. We here report the case of a right earlobe sporadic basal cell carcinoma in a 65-year-old woman. This case is unusual because of its earlobe localization and its association with multiple auricular acupuncture treatments. This observation suggests a connection between local traumas, which occur in the course of acupuncture treatment and ear piercing, and the genesis of basal cell carcinoma. The incidence of minor adverse events associated with acupuncture is high, but serious events are uncommon. Acupuncture is not known to date for promoting the development of tumors. This connection remains to be elucidated.

Epidemiology of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the pinna.J Laryngol Otol. 2001 Feb;115(2):85-6.

This is a retrospective study designed to compare the incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the head and neck skin area with special reference to the pinna. The results showed 426 patients had 460 cutaneous malignancies in the head and neck area, managed by four specialties (ENT, Dermatology, General Surgery and GPs) over the period 1994-99. The lesions comprised 375 (80.47 per cent) BCC and 85 (18.47 per cent) SCC. In cases of BCC the facial areas were commonly involved (88 per cent), whilst SCC was almost equally distributed between the most (face, forehead and nose) and least exposed areas (pinna and scalp). The overall ratio of BCC to SCC remained four to one in the head and neck area. In 41 patients with 51 lesions over the pinna there were 29 (56.8 per cent) BCC and 22 (43.1 per cent) SCC hence the ratio was 1.3 to 1 for this site. We conclude that in the case of a suspicious lesion over the pinna, the risk of SCC is comparatively much higher. With increasing awareness of early and quick diagnosis of cancer cases, it is recommended that these patients should be referred urgently to prevent the significant morbidity associated with invasive SCC.