Perieccrine Coil Elastosis: An Unusual and Previously Unrecognized Aging-Related Phenomenon

Elastic fibers are present as a thin line around the normal secretory coil of eccrine and apocrine glands, although they are virtually imperceptible with hematoxylin-eosin staining. Skin aging is a consequence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and glycation and ultraviolet irradiation are involved in this process favoring elastosis. We report an unusual and prominent perieccrine elastosis on the left temple in the vicinity of a basal cell carcinoma in a 78-year old man with type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Very thick multilamellar and tortuous elastic fibers surrounded the eccrine coils. This increased amount of elastic fibers was confirmed by orcein staining as well as amyloid-P and lysozyme immunostaining. Perieccrine coil elastosis is a very unusual phenomenon that to the best of our knowledge has not been reported. Similar to dermal actinic elastosis, the presence of perieccrine coil elastosis in a skin cancer microenvironment might hypothetically promote tumor growth because of the release of elastin-derived peptides.