Locally recurrent and metastatic apocrine-gland carcinoma in an elderly man.

BACKGROUND: A 78-year-old man with a history of untreated hypertension and dementia presented with a rapidly growing, painful mass in the left axilla. He was a nonsmoker and did not consume alcohol. There was no family history of malignancy. The patient had not experienced any constitutional symptoms, such as fever, weight loss, night sweats, or loss of appetite. INVESTIGATIONS: Physical examination, blood tests, excisional biopsy, studies of tumor morphology and immunohistochemistry, CT of the chest and abdomen, and PET scan. DIAGNOSIS: Carcinoma of the axillary apocrine gland. MANAGEMENT: Surgical excision, and radiation therapy.