Clinical characteristics and pathological depths of syringomas in 94 Korean patients

Syringoma is a common benign tumor with eccrine origin that typically occurs on the face of middle-aged women. Laser ablation with CO₂ laser or Er:YAG laser has been widely used in the clinical field, often leading to scars due to its deep location. This study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and pathological depths of the lesions in syringoma patients.

Syringoma patients, pathologically confirmed at Samsung medical center (Seoul, Korea) from January 1996 to March 2019, were analyzed. Clinical characteristics such as the location of lesion, age, and sex, and pathological depths of the lesions were investigated, and univariable and multivariable analyses were done for these factors.

Of total 94 syringomas, 17.0% were located on periocular area, 10.6% on forehead, 34.0% on head and neck areas excluding periocular area and forehead, and 38.3% on trunk and extremities. The mean depth of syringoma from the surface including stratum corneum to the deepest stromal location was 1174.14 ± 1142.95 μm for periocular area, 1055.93 ± 247.76 μm for forehead, 1488.06 ± 1217.36 μm for other areas of head and neck including scalp, and 1169.53 ± 349.2 for the lesions located at trunk and extremities including external genitalia. No significant correlation was observed from univariable analysis and multivariable analysis by age, sex, and site of lesion.

Our findings offer valuable information of the mean depth of syringoma at different sites, which can be taken into consideration for successful treatment without adverse events such as scarring.