Eccrine Hidradenocarcinoma of the Scalp

Eccrine hidradenocarcinoma is a rare adnexal neoplasm arising from the eccrine sweat glands of the skin. Surgery and radiotherapy are the mainstay of treatment, and chemotherapy is reserved for unresectable or metastatic lesions. We present the case of a 60-year-old man, referred for treatment of an unresectable basal cell carcinoma of the scalp. He started Vismodegib in January of 2017 but progressed after three months. A new biopsy showed a poorly differentiated carcinoma. The patient started carboplatin/paclitaxel with a major response, enabling surgery in December of 2017. Pathology concluded on a hidradenocarcinoma, R1, and radiotherapy was not possible due to local infection. Four months later, he underwent radiotherapy due to local recurrence, and restarted carboplatin/paclitaxel, but with progressive disease. An exploratory surgery in October of 2018 revealed unresectable disease. Restaging showed lung metastasis and second-line chemotherapy was proposed. However, due to continued clinical deterioration, the patient died in February of 2019.