2016 Volume 55 Issue 3 Pages 170-173
Background : Hidradenomas are benign adnexal neoplasms of either apocrine or eccrine origin. Skin adnexal tumors are usually diagnosed histologically based on the findings of excisional biopsy. Information on the cytological features of this tumor are limited. Herein, we report a patient with this tumor.
Case : A woman in her 50’s who was under follow-up for breast cancer presented with a non-ulcerated tumor measuring 4.5×4.0×2.9 mm in the skin of the breast region. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was performed to determine whether it was a metastatic tumor. Histopathology revealed three-dimensional clusters with scattered naked nuclei in the background. In the tumor cell clusters, regular glandular structures occasionally gave way in places to a whorled arrangement. This feature may be a useful diagnostic clue in the differential diagnosis of this tumor type.
Conclusions : Cell-rich smears of cohesive small basaloid cells mixed with variable numbers of glandular elements suggest the diagnosis of a primary cutaneous neoplasm. Benign adnexal tumors located on the breast or in the axilla can be mistaken for primary or metastatic cancer. Identifying the cytological features of hidradenoma in the histopathological specimen can be helpful in the differential diagnosis from a tumor metastasis.
