Syringomatous carcinoma of the scalp presenting as a slowly enlarging patch of alopecia.

A case of well-differentiated syringomatous carcinoma in a 50-year-old woman is reported. The tumor was located on the scalp and manifested as a slowly enlarging patch of alopecia. It was misdiagnosed as alopecia areata for years and subsequently was erroneously considered to be a benign syringoma on the basis of the results of a punch biopsy. When the correct diagnosis was made, the patient was referred to a plastic surgery department for the complete removal of her lesion.