Anogenital syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum in situ or anaplastic extramammary Paget disease? A unifying concept and review of the literature

Abstract

Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare cutaneous malignancy that typically involves the genital skin and can be primary or associated with an underlying internal malignancy. The typical histopathological appearance of EMPD consists of single or small aggregates of cells with abundant pale cytoplasm and large pleomorphic nuclei, known as Paget cells, scattered throughout the epidermis. We report a case of anogenital EMPD occurring in a 53‐year‐old man with unusual histopathologic findings of marked epidermal acanthosis, acantholysis, intraepidermal glandular differentiation, and prominent plasma cell‐rich fibrovascular cores. These features were entirely confined to the epidermis and adnexa with no evidence of dermal invasion or underlying systemic disease. We review and summarize the literature for atypical features noted in EMPD and summarize similar findings previously described under a variety of descriptions including anaplastic EMPD, anogenital syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum in situ (SCACPIS), SCACPIS‐like changes in EMPD, and EMPD mimicking acantholytic squamous cell carcinoma in situ. We propose that these features represent a single entity and be considered under a unifying diagnosis to facilitate recognition of this entity.