Adnexal tumors with eccrine differentiation D23.L/C44.L

Heterogeneous group of tumors that originate from the eccrine glandular epithelium. Most of the tumors are benign. With the few sweat gland carcinomas, the assignment apocrine/eccrine is often not possible. It also has no clinical relevance.

Adnexal tumors with eccrine differentiation show an extraordinarily large histological variability with a rather monomorphic and uncharacteristic clinical picture (except syringoma and cylindrome), which often makes their exact classification difficult.

In addition, there are difficulties due to the different nomenclature. The diagnosis "adnexal tumor with eccrine differentiation" is generally a histological random diagnosis.

Immunohistological markers for differentiation of eccrine secretion are: CEA, ferritin-AK, IgA-AK, CAM (cytokeratin) and S100.

The classification presented here is essentially based on the morphologic criteria elaborated on the HE section.

• Benign eccrine adnexal tumors:
  • Hamartoma, eccrine; subsumed hereunder are:
    • Hamartoma, eccrine, angiomatous
    • nevus eccrinus
    • Comedonal nevus of the palm
    • Nevus, linear, eccrine with comedones
    • Ostium nevus, porokeratotic-ecrine.
  • Hidrocystoma, eccrine
  • Syringofibroadenoma
  • Hidradenoma (see also clear cell hidradenoma)
  • Mixed tumor of the skin
  • Poroma, eccrine (see also hidroacanthoma simplex, dermal duct tumor)
  • Spiradenoma
  • Syringoma
  • Poroma (poromatosis)
  • Cylindroma (see also Brooke-Spiegler syndrome)
• Malignant eccrine adnexal tumors:
  • porocarcinoma/hidradenocarcinoma
  • Spiradenocarcinoma/cylindrocarcinoma
  • Other eccrine carcinomas.

1. Kaddu S et al (2003) Adnexal tumors with eccrine differentiation. In: Kerl H et al (eds.) Histopathology of the skin. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, S. 697-709
2. Leonard N et al (2001) Loss of heterozygosity at cylindromatosis gene locus, CYLD, in sporadic skin adnexal tumours. J Clin Pathol 54: 689-692
3. Rudolph P (2002) Benign adnexal skin tumors. Pathologist 23: 71-78