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Related terms:
mammary disease
dermatitis
dermatomyositis
exanthema
hair disease
keratosis
mastocytosis
nail disease
panniculitis
Neoplastic Process
keratoacanthoma Audio
[ kayr-uh-toh-ak-un-thoh-muh ]
Subclass of:
Dermatologic disorders
Definitions related to keratoacanthoma:
  • A benign, non-neoplastic, usually self-limiting epithelial lesion closely resembling squamous cell carcinoma clinically and histopathologically. It occurs in solitary, multiple, and eruptive forms. The solitary and multiple forms occur on sunlight exposed areas and are identical histologically; they affect primarily white males. The eruptive form usually involves both sexes and appears as a generalized papular eruption.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • A dome-shaped, rapidly growing skin lesion composed of well differentiated squamous cells. It usually occurs on sun-exposed areas of the body, most often the head, neck, and limbs. It is considered a variant of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with distinct clinical behavior. Keratoacanthomas affect males more frequently than females and the majority tend to regress spontaneously.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • A rapidly growing, dome-shaped skin tumor that usually occurs on sun-exposed areas of the body, especially around the head and neck. Keratoacanthoma occurs more often in males. Although in most patients it goes away on its own, in a few patients it comes back. Rarely, it may spread to other parts of the body.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Benign papular lesion with a superficial crater filled with a keratin plug, usually on the face.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a common benign epithelial tumor that originates from the pilosebaceous glands. In most cases, it is characterized by rapid evolution, followed by spontaneous resolution over 4 to 6 months. KA usually presents as a solitary flesh-coloured nodule with a central keratin plug on the sun-exposed skin of elderly individuals.
    Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
    The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2025
  • Keratoacanthomas are round, firm, usually flesh-colored nodules with sharply sloping borders and a characteristic central crater containing keratinous material; they usually resolve spontaneously, but some may be a well-differentiated form of squamous cell carcinoma.
    Merck Manuals
    Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
  • Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a relatively common low-grade tumor that originates in the pilosebaceous glands and closely resembles squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In fact, strong arguments support classifying keratoacanthoma as a variant of invasive SCC.
    Medscape
    WebMD, 2025
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This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.

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