Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of skin: Myoepithelial cells are a clue to its diagnosis

Abstract

Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma is a rare adnexal neoplasm of eccrine gland. Fewer than 200 cases are reported in literature. Clinically, it can be mistaken as a benign lesion. The primary challenge in these lesions is to differentiate these rare primary lesions from more frequent mucinous secondary deposits. Morphologically, they are similar to metastatic deposits of mucinous carcinoma from other viscera such as breast, lung, or gastrointestinal tract. Use of ancillary techniques and a thorough metastatic work up are mandatory to differentiate these lesions from metastases. We report a case of primary mucinous carcinoma of nasojugal region in a 51-year-old female. It was diagnosed on fine-needle aspiration cytology, and later, the lesion was excised and diagnosis confirmed on histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry.

Keywords

• Adenocarcinoma
• mucinous
• myoepithelial cell