Genital syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum: An unusual location and review of the literature

Abstract

Syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum (SCACP) is an extremely rare adnexal neoplasm of the sweat glands. It is believed to arise from the malignant transformation of syringocystadenoma papilliferum (SCAP). The majority of cases present on the head and neck and up to 17% of cases show metastatic progression. These tumors seldom occur in the anogenital area and, to date, only one case has been reported on the penis. Here, we report a rare case of SCACP in a 65-year-old man who presented with an erythematous, non-healing, ulcerated lesion on the penis.

Keywords: Adnexal neoplasm; Anogenital area; FDG-PET, fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography; SCACP, Syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum; Syringocystadenocarcinoma papilliferum.

Fig. 1

Multiple papules, nodules, and exudative crust over the genitalia and an erythematous, non-healing, ulcerated lesion on the penis along with severe scrotal edema (a, b).

Fig. 2

Hyperplastic epidermis and a crateriform lesion populated by papillary projections and lined by atypical epithelium, with the fibrovascular cores containing numerous plasma cells (a, H&E × 100; b, H&E × 400) (a, b). Dermal invasion was seen, characterized by tubular structures, single cells, and small groups of cells that infiltrated the full thickness of the dermis and part of the subcutis (c, H&E × 100; d, H&E × 200) (c, d).