Pilomatricoma in the Upper Extremity after Vaccination: A Case Report

Abstract

Pilomatricoma (also known as pilomatrixoma) is a rare benign skin tumor arising from hair follicle stem cells; it is also known as calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe. A definitive diagnosis can be made by histopathological examination. Surgical excision of the lesion is recommended for its treatment. The lesion can often be misdiagnosed when differential has not been considered. In the literature, there are few reports of pilomatricoma cases occurring after vaccination. A 21-month-old male patient was admitted to our clinic with a mass on his left arm that occurred after vaccination. The lesion was completely excised. The diagnosis of pilomatricoma was made after histopathological examination. As there were no predisposing factors other than vaccination, we concluded this to be a complication of the vaccination. The pathogenesis of pilomatricoma is unclear, but inflammation and trauma may promote neoplastic development. We report this case to draw attention to this rare lesion and to the possible etiopathogenetic association of vaccination with pilomatricoma.

Keywords

• Pilomatricoma
• vaccination
• calcifying epithelioma of Malherbe
• Malherbe tumor