[Adenocarcinoma of an eccrine sweat gland--the diagnostic problems]

Eccrine adenocarcinomas rarely present a clinical aspect that suggests a malignancy. We present a case of an adenocarcinoma of an eccrine sweat gland with a moderate degree of differentiation associated with a verruca vulgaris (papilloma). The verrucous tissue contained a large number of melanocytes giving the macroscopical aspect of a malignant melanoma. The light microscopy elucidated the problems of diagnosis. The immunological status may be responsible for this association between a benign tumour of the epidermis with a viral histogenesis and the carcinoma of an eccrine sweat gland.