Abstract
We experienced a rare case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising in chronic empyema cavity. The patient was a 55-year-old male who had the long interval of 19 years between development of empyema and onset of carcinoma with draining cutaneous fistula. The origin of SCC was supposed to be mesothelial metaplasia of empyema cavity, and the type of tumor findings was scattered foci.
In a review of the literature, we found 14 cases of SCC arising in chronic empyema cavity in Japan and concluded the following. 1) The mean age was 63 years, ranging between 42 and 84, and 13 of the 14 cases were male. 2) The mean period between first appearance of empyema and detection of malignancy was 31 years (from 8 to 57 years) and 10 of the 14 had bronchial and/or cutaneous fistula. 3) Two types of tumor findings (mass formation and scattered foci) were observed in 6 cases each.
