Description
This is a squamous cell carcinoma of the skin of the scrotum. It was first detected in 1775, where it affected chimney sweeps in their late teen and early twenties who had been in contact with soot since their early childhood. It was proposed that sweat running down their bodies had caused soot to accumulate in the rugae of the inferior surfaces of the scrotum. Warts caused by the irritation from soot particles, if not excised developed into a scrotal cancer. This then invaded the dartos, enlarged the testicle and proceeded up the spermatic cord into the abdomen where it proved fatal. Irritation was discounted when it was experimentally shown in 1922, that an active ingredient of coal soot was a carcinogen.
Read more about this topic: Chimney Sweeps' Carcinoma
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