Eccrine porocarcinoma: clinical and pathological report of eight cases

Eccrine porocarcinoma (EPC), a slow-growing carcinoma of the sweat gland, is a rare condition documented only in a small number of case series. Due to its rarity, guidelines and specific recommendations are not widely available. Accordingly, many dermatologists encounter difficulty in diagnosing and treating EPC. The aim of this study is to report the clinical and pathological features of EPC in order to contribute to the body of information currently available on the subject.

From 2003 to 2013, 8 Japanese patients were diagnosed with EPC at the Department of Dermatology in the Hachioji Medical Center of Tokyo Medical University. Patient data, including clinical manifestations, histopathological findings, immunohistochemical results, treatment method, and clinical course were collected and documented.

The mean age of the patients (6 males and 2 females) was 72.6 years. The duration of the lesions ranged from 4 months to 5 years (mean: 3.5 years). All of the lesions clinically presented with erosive reddish nodules (mean size: 39.0 mm). Initial CT imaging revealed that 1 case had multiple distant metastases. Surgical resection was performed for all primary lesions and follow-up observations were available in all cases (mean: 10.9 months). One case with distal metastases underwent both radiation therapy and chemotherapy, but nevertheless succumbed to the disease.

The EPC cases in our department presented a versatile clinical appearance and characteristic histopathological features.