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CASE REPORT article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Gastric and Esophageal Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1508285

Case report: A rare case of early esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma with ductal differentiation

Provisionally accepted
Xing Qi Xing Qi 1Zhenxiang Zuo Zhenxiang Zuo 2Guangchun Li Guangchun Li 1*Xiujie Cui Xiujie Cui 3*Honglei Wu Honglei Wu 1*
  • 1 Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 2 Department of Hematology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 3 Department of Pathology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Early esophageal basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (EBSCC) with ductal differentiation is a rare variant of esophageal cancer (EC), for which the clinical behavior, endoscopic features and diagnostic criteria are not fully elucidated.Case presentation: An 81-year-old female presented to our hospital with a year of eating obstruction sensation. A rough, superficial-elevated and circumferential 1/2 esophageal lesion on the upper esophagus was found by the white light endoscopy (WLE). The uplift and swelling caused by subepithelial lesions suggest that this lesion may infiltrate into the submucosa. Under the narrow band imaging magnifying endoscopy (NBI-ME), papillary-like structures were visible in the lesion, and the loop capillaries classified as intraepithelial papillary capillary loop (IPCL) of type B1 were observed. Furthermore, a fine network pattern of microvascular similar to the surface glandular structure in early differentiated gastric cancer can be seen in the middle of type B1, indicating that the presence of special glandular tubular-like components. Microscopically, the tumor was a poorly differentiated EBSCC with a glandular structure. In addition, the tubular structures transitional with the surface squamous cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical results showed that the bilayer-tubular structures exhibited bidirectional differentiation towards the outer basal epithelium and the inner columnar epithelium. The double-layer epithelium cells of the tumorous tubules expressed CK7, and the outer cells expressed p40, CK5/6.Early EBSCC with ductal differentiation has unique endoscopic, histological and immunophenotypic characteristics. Understanding of the endoscopic and pathological features of the early EBSCC with ductal differentiation is crucial for early detection, accurate diagnosis, timely treatment, and prevention of misdiagnosis.

    Keywords: Early esophageal carcinoma1, EBSCC2, Ductal differentiation3, IPCL4, submucosal infiltration5

    Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Qi, Zuo, Li, Cui and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Guangchun Li, Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong Province, China
    Xiujie Cui, Department of Pathology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong Province, China
    Honglei Wu, Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong Province, China

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