OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of various types of cutaneous appendage tumors in our practice. METHOD: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of various types of cutaneous appendage tumors in our practice. METHOD: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.