Eccrine porocarcinoma in a child that evolved rapidly from an eccrine poroma

Eccrine Porocarcinoma: New Insights and a Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Eccrine porocarcinoma (EPC) is a rare cutaneous neoplasm with high potential for morbidity and mortality. Due to its rarity, there is a paucity of data profiling diagnosis, work-up, and management.

OBJECTIVE

To consolidate reported information on demographics, diagnostics, clinical behavior, treatment modalities, and patient outcomes in EPC to provide a reference tool to optimize diagnosis and management.

METHODS

A comprehensive PubMed search was performed from 1963 to November 2017 using PRISMA guidelines. This yielded 155 articles detailing 206 cases of porocarcinoma.

RESULTS

Eccrine porocarcinoma most often presents in elderly patients on the head and neck or lower limbs. Metastatic disease at presentation is not uncommon (22%). Primary tumor location is significantly correlated with presence of metastasis (p = .038). The most common treatment is excision followed by Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), although the outcomes after MMS were superior to those after surgical excision.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review of individual patient data reveals that all patients should have a histological diagnosis with imaging considered for high-risk cases. Primary tumor location should also be considered in diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making. Although wide local excision (WLE) is currently the first-line treatment, MMS is becoming increasingly used, with evidence indicating improved outcomes as compared to those seen with WLE.

Eccrine Porocarcinoma presenting as an abdominal wall mass in a patient with ulcerative colitis-A rare case report

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Eccrine Porocarcinoma (EPC) is rare. It seldom occurs in the early 20s, or arises in the abdominal wall

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EPC is easily misdiagnosed due to lack of specific morphological features. Clinical picture usually consists of a painless nodule or papule

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Definitive diagnosis is achieved by histopathological examination

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Early definitive surgical excision with wide tumor free margins leads excellent results. Risk of local recurrence is about 20%

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High index of suspicion for EPC should be maintained in patients with cystic abdominal wall masses, especially in case of ulceration or discharge

Introduction

Eccrine porocarcinoma (EPC) is a rare malignancy of eccrine sweat glands. It is often seen during the sixth to eighth decades of life. We report the first case of eccrine porocarcinoma arising on the abdomen of a 21-year-old patient with ulcerative colitis.

Case presentation

A 21-Year-old female presented to emergency department with a one month history of an enlarging mass over left lower abdomen. Abdominal examination revealed a slightly erythematous, nodular and non-mobile firm mass in left lower quadrant. There was superficial ulceration with slight serous discharge. CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast revealed a superficial cystic lesion over the anterior abdominal wall, provisionally diagnosed as sebaceous cyst. Incision and drainage were performed and on follow-up, no signs of healing were observed and the patient subsequently underwent surgical excision. Histopathological examination revealed an eccrine porocarcinoma.

Discussion

EPC is a rare and aggressive tumor. It may occur de novo or as a result of malignant transformation of an eccrine poroma. A long period of clinical history is often encountered. It usually occurs on the lower extremities followed by the, trunk, head and neck, and upper extremities. The clinical picture usually consists of a painless nodule or papule. Treatment is wide local excision. No strong evidence exists for adjuvant therapy. The risk of local recurrence is about 20%.

Conclusion

High index of suspicion is required for diagnosis of EPC. Early diagnosis is achieved by histopathological examination and early definitive surgical excision leads to excellent results.

Eccrine poromatosis: case report and review of the literature

Eccrine poroma (EP) is a benign tumor of the eccrine duct. Multiple EPs are defined as eccrine poromatosis (EPS), an uncommon phenomenon. To date there are only eight reported cases of EPS. This review exemplifies the epidemiology, pathogenesis, differential diagnosis, and histology of EP, while reviewing the eight cases of EPS. Six of the eight cases of EPS had a history of immunosuppression from either radiation or chemotherapy. This paper will also emphasize the importance of excision to avoid possible malignancy. Here we present a 73-year-old gentleman with EPS who was also treated with radiation and chemotherapy prior to the onset of the lesions.

Eccrine porocarcinoma of the head: an important differential diagnosis in the elderly patient

BACKGROUND

Eccrine porocarcinoma is a rare malignant tumor of the sweat gland, characterized by a broad spectrum of clinicopathologic presentations. Surprisingly, unlike its benign counterpart eccrine poroma, eccrine porocarcinoma is seldom found in areas with a high density of eccrine sweat glands, like the palms or soles. Instead, eccrine porocarcinoma frequently occurs on the lower extremities, trunk and abdomen, but also on the head, resembling various other skin tumors, as illustrated in the patients described herein.

OBSERVATIONS

We report 5 cases of eccrine porocarcinoma of the head. All patients were initially diagnosed as having epidermal or melanocytic skin tumors. Only after histopathologic examination were they classified as eccrine porocarcinoma, showing features of epithelial tumors with abortive ductal differentiation. Characteristic clinical, histopathologic and immunohistochemical findings of eccrine porocarcinomas are illustrated.

CONCLUSION

Eccrine porocarcinomas are potentially fatal adnexal malignancies, in which extensive metastatic dissemination may occur. Porocarcinomas are commonly overlooked, or misinterpreted as squamous or basal cell carcinomas as well as other common malignant and even benign skin tumors. Knowledge of the clinical pattern and histologic findings, therefore, is crucial for an early therapeutic intervention, which can reduce the risk of tumor recurrence and serious complications.

Multiple eccrine poromas in the setting of total body irradiation and immunosuppression

Eccrine poromas are benign, adnexal tumors that most often occur as a solitary lesion on the palm or sole. The occurrence of multiple eccrine poromas is extremely rare. In this report, we describe the development of several eccrine poromas in an acral distribution in a 42-year-old man. Before the appearance of these tumors, the patient had received total body irradiation and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia. As a complication of the bone marrow transplant, the patient developed chronic graft-versus-host disease, which was treated with immunosuppressive therapy. We discuss this patient and review the available literature regarding multiple eccrine poromas.

Malignant eccrine poroma invading the parotid gland

Malignant eccrine poroma was first described by Pinkus and Mehregon in 1963. Because of the histologic characteristics of the tumor, these authors concluded that the tumor was likely of eccrine origin. Malignant eccrine poroma originates from the intraepidermal ductal portion of the eccrine gland. Like other tumors of skin adnexa, malignant eccrine poroma is a rare tumor. It mostly affects older persons. Clinical diagnosis is difficult, and lesions are often mistakenly identified as squamous cell carcinoma or pyogenic granuloma. We report a case of malignant eccrine poroma invading the parotid gland. A 65-year-old man presented with an ulcerated mass (2x3 cm) below the ear lobule of 3 months' duration. The mass was fixed to the skin and underlying parotid gland. The lesion was treated using a superficial parotidectomy approach including the overlying skin. Simultaneous neck dissection was performed. The diagnosis was malignant eccrine poroma invading the parotid gland.