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Aggressive squamous cell carcinoma of the lip
  1. Jack Schnur,
  2. Mary E Johnson Shaw,
  3. Lorenzo R Carnio and
  4. Damian Casadesus
  1. Internal Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Damian Casadesus; dcasadesus{at}hotmail.com

Abstract

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip typically has a good prognosis when diagnosed at an early stage and treated properly. We present a 65-year-old man with a 3-month history of an ulcerative lesion of the lower lip. On physical examination, he had an ulceration of approximately 5×5 cm in the mucosa of the lower lip, extending through 50% of the lip, and multiple mandibular and neck lymph nodes. The biopsy confirmed SCC of the lip. Surgical treatment was recommended, but the patient was lost to follow-up. The patient eventually returned to the hospital for medical treatment. However, the physical examination, and the images obtained showed progression of the disease. Chemotherapy was started with improvement in the primary site, but he then developed a large submental mass compatible with SCC. The tumour was considered incurable at that time. Palliative radiation therapy was offered; however, he refused any further procedures or treatment.

  • dermatology
  • healthcare improvement and patient safety
  • mouth
  • prevention
  • skin cancer

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Footnotes

  • Contributors JS and DC created the conception and designed the case. JS and MEJS performed data collection, analysis and wrote the initial manuscript. LRC performed subsequent article revision, data integration and image collection. DC was the attending in the case, obtained patient consent and performed final manuscript editing. All authors reviewed the final manuscript and approved the final version to be submitted.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Obtained.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer-reviewed.