A ‘ ‘ crackleware ’ ’ oesophagus

This case report describes a 70 year old woman with excessive diffuse keratinisation of the oral cavity and oesophagus harbouring a squamous cell carcinoma. This excessive diffuse keratinisation of normally non-keratinised squamous epithelium could not be identified in normally nonkeratinised epithelia in other parts of the body (the vagina), arguing against a genetic basis for this disorder. The term ‘‘crackleware’’ oesophagus was used to describe this entity, which has not been described previously in the English literature.