[Cancer of the sweat glands (its clinico-morphological characteristics)]

Based on a review of the literature and the authors' own experience comprising 20 cases, clinical and histological characteristics of sweat gland cancers (SGC) are detailed. Two clinical variants of SGC are distinguished: exophytic (or exophytic-endophytic) with ulceration and endophytic (intradermal). The lapse of time between detection of a SGC and its removal generally ranges from 12 months to 2 or more years. It is shown that diagnostic and prognostic considerations warrant classifying these cancers into two groups: those arising from benign tumors and retaining their histologic and ultrastructural features (one example of such a tumor is malignant poroma) and primary cancers (e. g., mucoid adenocarcinoma). Cancers of the first group, which comprise a majority of all SGC, run a more favorable course.