Unclassified carcinoma of the scalp in a child. Clinical case with literature review

Malignant tumors of the scalp are neoplasms of various morphologies. The most common malignant tumors of this localization are basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer, accounting for 95 % of all neoplasms in adults. Malignant tumors of the scalp in children account for no more than 0.2 % of all malignant tumors in childhood, of which unclassified carcinoma accounts for 0.1 %. The etiological factors of unclassified skin carcinoma are unknown, but previous factors include genetic predisposition, hemorrhage after trauma. The specific anatomical structure of the scalp (high density of hair follicles, the presence of hair), as well as the lack of specificity of symptoms and signs, leads to late diagnosis of skin tumors, which affects treatment and prognosis. CT-scan better diagnoses the condition of bone structures, and magnetic resonance imaging better assesses the presence of intracranial spread and the degree of involvement of brain structures. The difficulty of differential diagnosis of rare morphological variants of skin tumors in children lies in the lack of a unified database of rare skin tumors of childhood. To treat patients with malignant tumors of the scalp, combined antitumor treatment is used, including multicomponent chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and modern surgical technologies. Currently, unclassified skin carcinoma remains poorly understood. Therefore, the treatment of this cohort of patients requires a multidisciplinary approach.

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