Squamous cell carcinoma in a pregnant woman with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

Abstract

We report the case of a pregnant woman with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. During pregnancy, she presents with a large, rapidly growing, tumor on her right forearm, whose biopsy revealed an invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Amputation by the middle third of the forearm was performed at 21 weeks of pregnancy, without intra- or post-operative complications. The remainder of pregnancy was unremarkable and, at 36 weeks, she gave birth to a healthy baby. One month after delivery, a large lymph node conglomerate was detected in the right axilla, highly suggestive of metastatic disease and complete lymph node dissection was then performed. Despite the prompt institution of chemotherapy, the patient died a few months later due to metastatic disease.