title: Complex adnexal tumours of the skin: a report of three cases and review of literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Complex or composite adnexal tumours of the skin (CATS) are unusual neoplasms composed of two or more histopathologically distinct subtypes of appendageal neoplasms coexisting in a single cutaneous lesion. The authors report three examples of CATS, review literature and discuss their probable histogenesis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the three tumours described, one tumour showed a mixture of a proliferating pilar tumour and syringocystadenoma papilliferum, the second lesion was composed of a proliferating pilar tumour and tubulopapillary hidradenoma and the third tumour exhibited a syringocystadenoma papilliferum and tubulopapillary hidradenoma in combination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CATS are rare tumours. The authors reported three unique cases in addition to the 10 other reported cases. These three cases further strengthen the hypothesis of a 'folliculosebaceous apocrine' unit as the most likely point of origin of CATS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Southern California-Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: London
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saadat
authors.forename: Manjunath S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Vadmal
mesh_terms: D018250:Acrospiroma / Q000473:pathology; D003537:Cystadenoma / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018294:Neoplasms, Adnexal and Skin Appendage / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018193:Neoplasms, Complex and Mixed / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013544:Sweat Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D018252:Syringoma / Q000473:pathology