Squamoid Eccrine Ductal Carcinoma: Case Series of a Rare, Potentially Aggressive Skin Cancer Associated With Immunosuppression
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Dermatology Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust London UK
- 2Department of Histopathology Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust London UK
- 3Department of Histopathology Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust London UK
- 4Department of Histopathology St George's University Hospital NHS Trust London UK
- 5Department of Plastic Surgery Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust London UK
- 6Centre for Cell Biology and Cutaneous Research, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Queen Mary University of London London UK
Abstract
Squamoid Eccrine Ductal Carcinoma (SEDC) is a rare cutaneous adenexal carcinoma first described in 1997. It has distinct biphasic features on histology which commonly result in misdiagnosis as Bowen disease or cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCC) if diagnostic skin biopsies are too superficial. This may lead to a delay in diagnosis. It is locally aggressive with significant metastatic potential, and an association with immunosuppression has been previously reported in ~20% of cases. We conducted a single‐centre, retrospective cohort study of all patients diagnosed with SEDC over a 12‐year period (2013–2025). Ten cases were identified (7 M, 3 F; mean age at diagnosis 75 years [SD 10.8]), of whom 9 (90%) were immunocompromised due to solid organ transplantation (n = 6) or haematologic malignancy (n = 3). A diagnosis of SEDC was not initially made in any of the 4 cases in which an incisional biopsy was performed and only correctly diagnosed after complete excision. Locoregional recurrence occurred in 8 (80%) and distant metastasis in 2 (20%) of patients. Treatment included surgical excision in all cases, post‐operative radiotherapy due to incomplete or close margins or metastasis in 60%, and lymphadenectomy or parotidectomy in 20%. This case series highlights the diagnostic challenges posed by SEDC and the need for clinicopathologic vigilance, its potentially aggressive course, and the apparent strength of the association with immunosuppression which we propose may have been previously underestimated.
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BibTeX
@article{tan2026squamoid,
title = {{Squamoid Eccrine Ductal Carcinoma: Case Series of a Rare, Potentially Aggressive Skin Cancer Associated With Immunosuppression}},
author = {Xiang Li Tan and Pooja Patel and Jeva Cernova and Sarah Hogan and Jason Thomson and Efthymios Hadjimichael and Sharanpal Jeetle and Dorota Markiewicz and Michael Sheaff and Nilukshi Wijesuriya and Mark Hawthorne and Graeme Moir and Matthew Stodell and Kapil Bhargava and Suchitra Chinthapalli and Catherine A. Harwood},
journal = {Journal of Cutaneous Pathology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1111/cup.70127},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/cup.70127},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Squamoid Eccrine Ductal Carcinoma: Case Series of a Rare, Potentially Aggressive Skin Cancer Associated With Immunosuppression
AU - Xiang Li Tan
AU - Pooja Patel
AU - Jeva Cernova
AU - Sarah Hogan
AU - Jason Thomson
AU - Efthymios Hadjimichael
AU - Sharanpal Jeetle
AU - Dorota Markiewicz
AU - Michael Sheaff
AU - Nilukshi Wijesuriya
AU - Mark Hawthorne
AU - Graeme Moir
AU - Matthew Stodell
AU - Kapil Bhargava
AU - Suchitra Chinthapalli
AU - Catherine A. Harwood
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/08
JO - Journal of Cutaneous Pathology
DO - 10.1111/cup.70127
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/cup.70127
AB - Squamoid Eccrine Ductal Carcinoma (SEDC) is a rare cutaneous adenexal carcinoma first described in 1997. It has distinct biphasic features on histology which commonly result in misdiagnosis as Bowen disease or cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCC) if diagnostic skin biopsies are too superficial. This may lead to a delay in diagnosis. It is locally aggressive with significant metastatic potential, and an association with immunosuppression has been previously reported in ~20% of cases. We conducted a single‐centre, retrospective cohort study of all patients diagnosed with SEDC over a 12‐year period (2013–2025). Ten cases were identified (7 M, 3 F; mean age at diagnosis 75 years [SD 10.8]), of whom 9 (90%) were immunocompromised due to solid organ transplantation (n = 6) or haematologic malignancy (n = 3). A diagnosis of SEDC was not initially made in any of the 4 cases in which an incisional biopsy was performed and only correctly diagnosed after complete excision. Locoregional recurrence occurred in 8 (80%) and distant metastasis in 2 (20%) of patients. Treatment included surgical excision in all cases, post‐operative radiotherapy due to incomplete or close margins or metastasis in 60%, and lymphadenectomy or parotidectomy in 20%. This case series highlights the diagnostic challenges posed by SEDC and the need for clinicopathologic vigilance, its potentially aggressive course, and the apparent strength of the association with immunosuppression which we propose may have been previously underestimated.
SN - 0303-6987
SN - 1600-0560
ER -