Genetic Landscape of Oral Carcinoma Cuniculatum and its Histological Mimics.
Genetic alterations found in 87.5% of oral carcinoma cuniculatum cases, distinct pattern from conventional squamous cell carcinoma
Genetic Landscape of Oral Carcinoma Cuniculatum and its Histological Mimics.
Oral carcinoma cuniculatum (cuniculatum) is a rare variant of oral squamous cell carcinoma (oral squamous cell carcinoma), characterized by a well-differentiated, burrowing invasive pattern and minimal cellular atypia.
From this cohort, 23 cases exhibiting a burrowing invasive pattern characteristic of cuniculatum were selected.
The 23 cases were histologically classified into cuniculatum (n = 8), uncertain CC (n = 7), and SCC (n = 8) groups.
Clinically, the cuniculatum group predominantly affected the gingiva with no recurrence or metastasis.
In contrast, the SCC group showed frequent TP53 (75.0%) and CDKN2A (75.0%) alterations, whereas FAT1 and NOTCH1 alterations were absent.
Consistent with these findings, p53 staining revealed wild-type patterns in the cuniculatum group along with a lower Ki-67 labeling index.
This study provides the first genetic characterization of oral cuniculatum, distinct from that of conventional oral squamous cell carcinoma.
This genetic signature may contribute to the biological behavior of cuniculatum and offer a potential tool for its differential diagnosis.
Further studies with larger cohorts are required to confirm the relationship between cuniculatum and conventional oral squamous cell carcinoma, and to fully elucidate the genetic landscape of cuniculatum.