Eccrine Porocarcinoma: Patient Characteristics, Clinical and Histopathologic Features, and Treatment in 7 Cases

Eccrine porocarcinoma is a rare, malignant cutaneous adnexal tumor that arises from the ducts of sweat glands. Found mainly in patients of advanced age, this tumor has diverse clinical presentations. Histology confirms the diagnosis, detects features relevant to prognosis, and guides treatment. Growth is slow, but the prognosis is poor if the tumor metastasizes to lymph nodes or visceral organs. We report 7 cases of eccrine porocarcinoma, describing patient characteristics, the clinical and histopathologic features of the tumors, and treatments used. Our observations were similar to those of other published case series. Given the lack of therapeutic algorithms or protocols for this carcinoma, we propose a decision-making schema based on our review of the literature and our experience with this case series. The algorithm centers on sentinel lymph node biopsy and histologic features.