Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Anterior High-Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia
Published on: August 9, 2024
Basaloid follicular hamartoma of the eyelid
Frederick A Jakobiec1, Fouad R Zakka, Nancy Kim
1David G Cogan Laboratory of Ophthalmic Pathology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 , USA. Fred_Jakobiec@meei.harvard.edu
Abstract:
An 86-year-old woman slowly developed a solitary 0.3 3 0.2-cm papule on the left lower eyelid. Complete excision disclosed a honeycombed lesion composed of interlacing basaloid strands unattached to the epidermis but rather extending into the dermis from a dilated hair follicle. The diagnosis was a solitary basaloid follicular hamartoma that can also occur in multiple, generalized, and inherited forms, sometimes with an associated systemic disease. The lesion exhibited a distinctive CD34-positive, mildly cellular myxoid stroma with many CK20-positive Merkel cells scattered within the basaloid cellular strands, which exhibited BCL-2 positivity only within the outermost cells bordering the stroma. These immunohistochemical features are the opposite of those displayed by basal cell carcinomas, which require more aggressive surgical management. Besides basal cell carcinomas, the differential diagnosis of basaloid follicular hamartoma includes fibrofolliculoma, tumor of the follicular infundibulum, poroma, and trabecular (Merkel cell) carcinoma.
Related Concept Videos
Multipotency and Niche of Bulge Stem Cell
Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...
Basal Lamina are the Specialized Form of ECM
Proteins...
Folliculogenesis

