Case report: Pilomatrixoma. Benign calcifiying epithelioma of Malherbe

Abstract

Pilomatrixomas are relatively rare benign tumours originating from hair follicle. They usually present as asymptomatic , hard or firm, solitary, dermal or subcutaneous nodules. The vast majority of the tumor in the body is head and neck region. Making a clinical diagnosis can be difficult, especially if the tumour is located in parotid region. Tumor may be found in association with Gardner syndrome, myotonic dystrophy, Churg-Straus syndrome, Rubenstein-Taybi Syndrome, sarcoidosis or Turner's syndrome. The differantial diagnosis of these lesions should include sebaceous, dermoid, epidermoid, inclusion cysts, foreign body reaction, basal cell carcinoma, parotid gland tumour, hematoma, osteochondroma. The differantial diagnosis can be made by pathologic examination. The purpose of this article is to present a case of pilomatrixoma in head-neck region and review the literature regarding pilomatrixomas.

Keywords

• pilomatrixoma
• head and neck
• malherbe tumour