Abstract

MARTINS, Marcos Alberto et al. Malignant adnexal cutaneous tumor of the scalp: a case report of difficult differential diagnosis between metastatic breast cancer and primary sweat gland tumor. J. Hum. Growth Dev. [online]. 2021, vol.31, n.1, pp. 177-183. ISSN 0104-1282.  http://dx.doi.org/10.36311/jhgd.v31.10361.

This paper describes a case of a 71-year-old female who initially went to a dermatologist to assess a scalp skin tumor, which performed an incisional biopsy. Anatomopathological and immunohistochemical study revealed a preliminary diagnosis of breast carcinoma metastasis. Although the patient had no medical history of breast cancer, due to this result, she was referred to a mastologist, who investigated her breast nodules for the possible primary focus of the carcinoma. Despite an active investigation through imaging tests, biopsies, and mammotomy, without finding any possible primary focus on the breasts. Finally, the lesion on the scalp was entirely removed by a plastic surgeon. New anatomopathological and immunohistochemical exams confirmed the diagnosis of breast carcinoma metastasis. Given these results, the authors discuss the difficulty in diagnosing differentiation from a primary or metastatic neoplasm of the scalp, with the resources currently available, until the conclusion that it was a primary carcinoma of the sweat gland.

Keywords : breast carcinoma; sweat gland carcinoma; skin cancer.

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