Apocrine carcinoma, adenopathies, and raised TAG-72 serum tumor marker
Jorge Santos-Juanes1, José Francisco Bernaldo de Quirós, Cristina Galache Osuna
1Service of Dermatology II, Hospital Universitario de Asturias, Oviedo 33006, Spain. jocris@terra.com
Background:
The detection of tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 in the serum of patients with carcinomas, basically of the colon, has proved to be of great use in the follow-up of these gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas.
Results:
We report the case of a male patient presenting adenopathies in the right axilla. The histologic study of an adjacent skin tumor enabled the diagnosis of a cutaneous apocrine carcinoma. Among the studies made, the increase in the serum antibody CA72.4 can be highlighted. The tumor marker was negative after the extirpation of the skin tumor and the axillary adenopathies.
Conclusion:
To our best knowledge, this is the first case in which a tumor serum marker is associated with a cutaneous apocrine carcinoma, a fact that should be confirmed with further patients. Its use in the monitoring of this infrequent skin neoplasia is also noteworthy.
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