Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Thumb Nail Bed taken for Onychomycosis: A Case Study

Squamous cell carcinoma of the nail bed is a rare tumour, several risk factors are incriminated in the genesis of this tumour: microtrauma, x-rays, arsenic, dyskeratoses and infections (HPV). It is a slow-growing local tumour, often neglected and considered as an onychomycosis leading to local extension and sometimes distant metastasis. We present a new case of periungual carcinoma of the left thumb in a 65 year old patient with a 10 year history of onychomycosis which progressed to local bone extension requiring amputation of the thumb. The objective of this work is to recall the epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic particularities of this rare tumour, to insist on the practice of biopsy in front of any nail lesion in order to make the diagnosis and the management in time to avoid the local extension and the metastases.