Apocrine poroma of the breast

Poromas are sweat gland tumors classically reported to be of eccrine origin. However, it is now recognized that poromas may also be derived from apocrine glands. There are no prior reports of either type of poroma arising on the breast. We report the first case of a poroma of the breast. The lesion was localized to the areola of a 70-year-old woman and mimicked an underlying neoplasm of the breast. Because the histopathology demonstrated apparent continuity of a benign poroma with the infundibula of hair follicles, the diagnosis of apocrine poroma was made. The poroma in this case is of apocrine derivation. This report demonstrates that apocrine poromas should be considered in the clinical differential of acquired lesions on the areola, suggesting an underlying breast tumor. Apocrine poromas that are only partially biopsied may recur. Moreover, since apocrine poromas may potentially develop into apocrine porocarcinomas, analogous to eccrine poromas sometimes transforming into eccrine porocarcinomas, apocrine poromas should be completely excised.