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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 2014 May;26(2):123–141. doi: 10.1016/j.coms.2014.01.001

Table 6.

Comparison of histologic subtypes of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)

Verrucous
Carcinoma		 Hybrid
Verrucous/
conventional SCC		 Basaloid
Squamous
Carcinoma		 Papillary
Squamous
Carcinoma		 Sarcomatoid
Carcinoma
Age 7-8th decades 7-8th decades Older 7th decade
Sex M>F M>F M>F M (smoking)
Location Buccal, gingiva Base of tongue,
hypopharynx		 Rare oral (larynx,
sinonasal)		 Larynx>oral/tongue
LN mets None (if pure) Risk for LN METS High risk for mets May metastasize May metastasize
Gross
appearance		 Exophytic,
warty, fungating		 Exophytic Variable/ ulcerated Exophytic- fronds,
friable		 Often polypoid,
ulcerated
Morphology

  • Abundant keratosis

  • Well differentiated

  • Minimal-atypia

  • Broad base Pushing border

  • Mixture of verrucous & invasive SCC

  • Increased pleomorphism/

  • dysplasia

  • Infiltrating border

  • Immature ‘basal-like’ cells

  • High N/C ratio

  • Rare abrupt keratin pearls

  • Mitoses

  • Central necrosis

  • Grows in nests & cords, cribriform, palisading

  • May have prominent basement membrane

  • Full thickness neoplastic cells

  • Without keratinization

  • Long fibrovascular cores

  • Biopsies often equivocal for invasion

  • Invasive nests looks like SCC

  • Usually spindled

  • Low to moderate cellularity

  • Mitoses present

  • +/− atypical mitoses

  • May see conventional SCC component

  • May show nearby dysplasia
Differential
diagnosis

  • Verrucous hyperplasia

  • WDSCC

  • Verrucous hyperplasia

  • Solid (basaloid) adenoid cystic carcinoma

  • Neuroendocrine CA

  • In situ SCC

  • Pseudosarcomatous inflammatory reaction

  • Sarcoma

CA=carcinoma; F=females; LN=Lymph nodes; M=males; Mets=metastases; N/C=nuclear to cytoplasmic; WDSCC=well-differentiated SCC