A case report of a primary apocrine adenocarcinoma of the eyelid with literature review

Abstract

PAA is a very rare and aggressive tumor. Because it is so infrequent, treatments are based on the sporadic cases encountered in the literature. As more cases are reported, more can be elucidated about the characteristics of this tumor, its behavior and best treatment choice and this may allow progress in the understanding and management of this disease.

Current Diagnosis and Treatment Options for Cutaneous Adnexal Neoplasms with Apocrine and Eccrine Differentiation

“…Apocrine carcinoma (AC), also known as apocrine adenocarcinoma, is a rare malignancy deriving from sweat glands. Usually, it appears in regions with high apocrine glands’ density, such as the axilla, the anogenital area with nipples and head, including eyelids (from the glands of Moll), and the external auditory canal [ 144 , 145 ]. Few non-specific mutations have already been found ( Table 1 ).…”

“…The prevalence is unknown due to limited data. The largest series of affected patients in one paper includes 186 cases [ 144 ]. The disease presents in older patients, mainly in the seventh decade, but even patients affected in the second decade were observed.…”

“…The lesion is often locally advanced at the moment of diagnosis and infiltrates surrounding tissues [ 149 ]. The neoplasm may metastasize to regional lymph nodes and other organs, including lungs, liver, bone, and brain [ 144 ]. Although AC usually arises de novo, they can also originate from a pre-existing benign lesion, as in the case of adenocarcinoma derived from an apocrine cyst [ 150 ].…”

“…The therapeutic approach to apocrine adenocarcinoma includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Surgical treatment is usually performed at first, with wide margins, though the margin’s extent is not clarified ( Table 2 ) [ 144 , 145 ]. Radiotherapy is claimed to be an additional treatment in patients with extensive tumors or for palliation of both bone and brain metastases, whereas chemotherapy, typically combinations of anthracyclines, taxanes, and platinum drugs, has been reported to be successful in cases with lymph node metastases [ 151 ].…”

Metastatic cutaneous apocrine adenocarcinoma successfully treated with systemic anti‐androgen therapy—A case report

“…It usually occurs in areas of high sweat gland density such as the axilla, the groin, and anogenital regions, but can occur anywhere else on the skin 1‐3 . Only 25 cases have been described up to now involving the modified apocrine glands of the eyelid, also called Moll's glands 4,5 …”