Eccrine Carcinoma Treatment & Management
- Author: Anthony Wong, MD, FAAD; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD more...
Medical Care
Experience and published data on eccrine carcinomas are very sparse. Radiation therapy has been used in select cases of eccrine carcinoma; chemotherapy has not been used extensively and presumably is lacking in efficacy.[14]
Surgical Care
Mohs micrographic surgery is becoming the mainstay of therapy for eccrine carcinomas.[11] Specific surgical treatments administered (as described in isolated case reports) for a few eccrine carcinoma subtypes are detailed below.
- Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC): A review of the world literature, which included 13 previously unpublished cases, reported 73 cases of MAC treated with Mohs; 39 of these were followed for more than 2 years with only 4 recurrences (89.7% success rate).[15] A later review of 10 cases of MAC treated with Mohs reported disease free periods of 23.3 months, compared to one recurrence with standard surgical excision.
- Eccrine porocarcinoma: In a review of 9 cases from 1986-1996, 8 were treated with wide excision and 1 was treated with radiotherapy (RT); only 1 of the excisional cases and the RT case recurred.[16]
- Malignant eccrine spiradenoma: A few case reports exist of this tumor treated with wide excision with or without radiation therapy. However, long-term data are scant.
- Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinoma: Wide excision or amputation of the affected digit has been advised.
- Primary cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma: A report on 8 patients treated with wide excision noted 3 recurrences (time period unspecified) with 1 patient lost to follow-up.
Consultations
Surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, and radiation therapists may play roles in the treatment of patients with eccrine carcinoma.
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