Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma bordering ectopic gastric mucosa “inlet patch” of the cervical esophagus

Objective Ectopic gastric mucosa of the cervical esophagus, referred to as inlet patch (IP), is considered to be a common development abnormality of the esophagus. We report here a case of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma bordering on IP of the cervical esophagus. Methods A 44-year-old female underwent partial pharyngectomy, total laryngectomy, cervical esophagectomy, and bilateral neck dissection under the diagnosis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Results Resected specimens of the hypopharynx revealed a well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in the ulcerative tumorous lesion (3.5 cm × 0.5 cm). A brown patch (2 cm × 1.5 cm) bordering the anal aspect of the tumor comprised ectopic gastric mucosa of fundic type epithelium. Immunohistochemistry revealed the surface mucosal cells of this lesion were strongly positive for human gastric mucin (HGM) and the fundic cells were positive for gastrin. Conclusion The hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma likely developed in association with chronic irritation due to gastric acid from the IP. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of squamous cell carcinoma related to IP.