[Verrucous carcinoma of the penis arising from a lichen planus. A true preneoplastic lesion?].

INTRODUCTION: Up to 30% of squamous cell carcinomas of the penis arise from a lichen sclerosus, but very few reports in which lichen planus was the preexisting lesion have been published. We report a male with verrucous carcinoma of penis that developed in an area of lichen planus.

CLINICAL CASE: A 53-year-old male presented with an exophytic tumor on the glans penis that had been present for about 6 months. The lesion developed in a previously biopsied area of lichen planus hypertrophicus. After excision, histological diagnosis was verrucous carcinoma.

COMMENT: The development of any subtype of squamous cell carcinoma of penis in a lichen planus can be coincidental, or a neoplastic transformation of lichen planus can take place.