Metastatic Invasive Sweat Gland Adenocarcinoma of the Hand with Upper Limb Amputation/Shoulder Reconstruction

A rare case of metastatic invasive sweat gland adenocarcinoma of hand in a 78-year-old woman is presented. From this analysis of the available literature, it seems that these rare primary tumors of the hand are aggressive tumors with little known about their biological behavior. Fluoropyrimidines, taxanes, and cisplatin have been reported to be active agents for metastatic sweat gland carcinomas. Further, these tumors have historically been considered radioresistant, but responses to radiation have been documented in the setting of recurrent disease, and the use of adjuvant radiotherapy has been advocated for tumors at high risk of local recurrence. We advocate an aggressive approach of high amputation and axillary lymph node dissection with adjuvant treatment using chemotherapy as the mainstay with close follow-up for metastases.