Background: Verrucous carcinoma of the vulva is extremely rare. It is a slow growing, low malignant variant of a squamous cell carcinoma with a cauliflower appearance. Women with lichen planus have an increased risk of developing vulval cancer.
Case presentation: A 79-year-old woman consulted for vulval itching. On clinical examination, a 3-cm large verrucous clitoral cancer in an area of lichen planus was seen. Based on her last clinical examination, the growth was estimated to be 1 cm2 per month with an invasion depth after 6 months of 5 mm. A tumor developing in an area of lichen planus appears to have more aggressive features. This is the first time that the growth of a verrucous carcinoma has been documented in an area of lichen planus.
Conclusions: Clinicians and patients should be aware of the aggressive behavior of cancers developing in areas of lichen planus and adjust their surgical management together with the follow-up strategy.
Keywords: Carcinoma; Clitoris; Lichen planus; Treatment; Verrucous; Vulval.