A rare case of aggressive squamous-cell carcinoma of the breast skin: Marjolin's ulcer. A case report
Gatto, A.; Sebastiani, S.; Falvo, L.; Giustiniani, C.; La Rovere, C.
Chirurgia Italiana 60(4): 577-582
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-4773 PMID: 18837261 Accession: 051232103
Marjolin's ulcer is an epidermoid carcinoma arising in a scar or chronic wound and is characterised by an aggressive course. We present a clinical case of ulcerated skin carcinoma of the breast arising in an 80-year-old woman, who at history taking reported a burn occurring 30 years earlier on the breast skin, with subsequent chronic ulcerative scar formation. The definitive histological examination identified a "squamous-cell carcinoma of the breast skin". We have assessed this case and reviewed the literature on Marjolin's ulcer. The patient presented a metastatic relapse of local disease after aggressive surgical treatment. In the clinical history of patients with chronic ulcers it is important to analyse the morphological changes with biopsies and subsequently with the most appropriate diagnostic techniques for the purposes of early initiation of a therapeutic program, since, in the advanced stages, even an aggressive surgical treatment may prove inadequate.