PSEUDO-EPITHELIOMATOUS HYPERPLASIA AT THE MARGINS OF CUTANEOUS ULCERS

Abstract

That the histologic picture at the margins of chronic or subacute cutaneous ulcers often simulates or actually reproduces that of carcinoma cutis is common knowledge to the pathologist. This would especially apply to the more highly differentiated type of epithelioma, approximately grade 1 of Broders.1It is well known that there are many irritative factors which may lead to mimicry of malignant hyperplasia of the epidermis, such as cutaneous blastomycosis, bilharziasis of the rectum, Paget's eczematoid dermatitis, and around pellagrous dermatitis.2In all these, the histologic picture may at times be quite good for a malignant growth, but we learned long ago that a malignant condition microscopically was not necessarily a malignant condition clinically; i.e. not a matter of life and death to the patient. In some classes of cases it has thus developed that we have had to require in addition some of such clinical changes as