Spectrum of cutaneous appendage tumors at Aga Khan University Hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of various types of cutaneous appendage tumors in our practice.


METHODS
This is a partly retrospective and partly prospective study conducted at the Department of Pathology, Histopathology Section, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi between 1st January 1997 and 31st December 2001.


RESULTS
One hundred sixty six skin appendage tumors were diagnosed during the study period. 87.3% were benign, while 12.6% were malignant. Male female ratio was almost equal. Mean age was 41.72 years. 37.34% showed eccrine differentiation, 14.45% showed apocrine differentiation and 41.56% showed pilosebaceous differentiation, 6.62% exhibited mixed differentiation. The 5 commonest tumors were pilomatricoma, nodular hidradenoma (eccrine acrospiroma), syringocystadenoma papilleferum, eccrine poroma and eccrine spiradenoma. The commonest malignant tumors were porocarcinoma and sebaceous carcinoma. Pilomatricoma were common in children.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of our findings roughly correlate with the western published data. However, commonest site for eccrine poromas in our study was head and neck. Also, not a single case of eccrine spiradenoma was seen in the first two decades of life. These findings differ significantly from western data.
Yaqoob
N
N
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical College, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Ahmad
Z
Z
Muzaffar
S
S
Gill
M S
MS
Soomro
I N
IN
Hasan
S H
SH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018280:Carcinoma, Skin Appendage / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*