Not your usual cancer case: variants of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Although squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) variants account for less than 10% of all laryngeal SCCs, they have many unique biological, morphological, and clinical features. They are also easily confused with other tumor types. Recognition of them is critical for surgical pathologists as is the knowledge of what they mean for the patient. Three of the most common and important of these are basaloid, verrucous, and papillary SCC. These tumor types will be briefly reviewed with a focus on specific controversies, biological questions, and/or recent advancements in our understanding of them.