Sebaceous epithelioma: a review of twenty-one cases

Sebaceous epithelioma is a benign tumor that must be differentiated from basal cell carcinoma and other appendageal tumors.

Histologic and clinical findings were reviewed in 21 patients with sebaceous epitheliomas.

Twenty-one cases of sebaceous epithelioma collected during a 5-year period were reviewed.

The tumors appeared as yellow to flesh-colored papules, most often on the face and neck. They consisted of basaloid cells with foci of sebaceous differentiation. Cystic spaces formed by holocrine degeneration or simulating sebaceous duct lining were common findings. Patients with sebaceous epitheliomas were more likely than the general population to have an internal malignancy.

Patients with sebaceous epithelioma should be examined for an underlying malignancy.