Cutaneous horn (cornu cutaneum) is the clinical description of a hyperproliferation
of compact keratin in response to a wide array of underlying benign and malignant
pathologic changes.
1
A cutaneous horn more than 1 cm in height is rare, because surgeons remove these horns early.
2
Four main features are associated with a premalignant or malignant histopathological
change at the base of a cutaneous horn: patient age, sex, site, and geometry of the
lesion. The mean age of patients whose cutaneous horns showed a premalignant or malignant
base pathology was 8.9 years older than the mean age of patients in whom the base
pathology was benign. Men are more likely to develop a cutaneous horn with a premalignant
or malignant base pathology. More than 70% of all premalignant or malignant lesions
are found on the nose, pinnae, back of hands, scalp, forearms, and the face, and a
cutaneous horn found at these sites is 2:1 times more likely to have been derived
from a premalignant or malignant base than from any other part of the body.
3
Lesions with a wide base or a low height-to-base ratio were markedly more likely
to show a premalignant or malignant base pathology.
3
Cornu cutaneum refers to a reaction pattern rather than a specific lesion. Different
types of skin lesions underlie cutaneous horns such as keratoses, sebaceous molluscum,
verruca, trichilemma, Bowen's disease, epidermoid carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and
basal cell carcinoma.
4
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References
- Giant cutaneous horn associated with verruca vulgaris.Cutis. 1999; 64: 111-112
- Giant cutaneous horn.Ann Plast Surg. 1999; 43 ([Letter]): 674
- A histopathological study of 643 cutaneous horns.Br J Dermatol. 1991; 124: 449-452
- Xeroderma pigmentosum with a giant cutaneous horn.Ann Plast Surg. 2001; 46 ([Letter]): 665-666
- Cutaneous horns of the eyelid: a clinicopathological study of 48 cases.J Cutan Pathol. 2004; 31: 539-543
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 28, 2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.