Recurrent malignant proliferating trichilemmal tumour: local management with ethanol injection

Abstract

We report a 59-year-old woman who exhibited a recurrent malignant proliferating trichilemmal tumour on the scalp for 1 5 years. The tumour was recalcitrant to conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation or hyperthermia and we performed intratumoral ethanol injection as an alternative means of reducing tumour mass and obtaining haemostasis. Biopsy specimens obtained after the ethanol injection revealed oedema, haemorrhage in the dermis and degeneration of the tumour cells, showing vacuolization with pyknotic nuclei. For cases of recurrent skin tumours and for patients in poor clinical condition, intratumoral ethanol injection is likely to be a therapeutic alternative to surgery or other conventional treatments.