A new oct sign of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea

A case is reported of an unusual progressive corneal opacification and neovascularization caused by a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cornea. A patient with a white stromal infiltrate, consistent with herpetic stromal keratitis, showed a very particular image in optical coherence tomography (OCT), resembling a "tongue of lava" sliding between corneal lamellae. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of SCC.

To our knowledge this is the first report in the literature of this peculiar image with OCT. Squamous Cell Carcinoma is an extremely rare cause of progressive corneal opacification and neovascularization, and a delayed diagnosis may lead to unsuccessful treatment and loss of the eyeball.