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Introduction and Objectives: Microcystic adnexal carcinoma is a rare and aggressive tumor that manifests clinically as a subcutaneous nodule located on the head or neck. The tumor can be confused clinically and histologically with other benign and malignant skin lesions, often leading to inappropriate initial treatment. The chief concern with microcystic adnexal carcinoma is the elevated morbidity and the high rate of recurrence after wide local excision. Recent preliminary studies point to higher cure rates with Mohs micrographic surgery., Material and Methods: We reviewed the medical histories of 6 consecutive patients with microcystic adnexal carcinoma who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery in our dermatology department between 1995 and 2007., Results: In all cases, lesions were located on the head and were primary tumors. Seventy percent of the tumors were wrongly diagnosed initially as basal cell carcinoma. Perineural invasion was not detected in any patient, and all were free of recurrence after between 1 and 12 years of postoperative follow-up., Conclusions: The absence of perineural involvement and substantial cell atypia can be attributed to the lesions being primary tumors. This would provide a rationale for definitive radical treatment of the primary tumor from the outset to avoid the complications associated with recurrence. The site and the absence of recurrence in all our patients who underwent Mohs micrographic surgery support the use of this technique as the treatment of choice in microcystic adnexal carcinoma.

The cutaneous epithelioid angiomatous nodule is an uncommon benign vascular proliferation that has only recently been described. Clinically, it usually presents as a solitary, fast-growing, small reddish papulous or nodular lesion on the trunk or limbs of adults. Histopathologic study reveals a proliferation of epithelioid cells and predominantly solid, well delimited, unilobular growth in the superficial dermis. Well defined vessels are often found permeating the lesion, which also shows a certain degree of inflammatory infiltration. The cells contain abundant pink cytoplasm, often with vacuoles, and vesicular nuclei with prominent nucleoli. The morphology of these cells is relatively uniform, without atypia or pleomorphism, although mitoses are not uncommon. We report 2 new cases of cutaneous epithelioid angiomatous nodules, the first in a 28-year-old pregnant woman and the second in a 27-year-old man. In both cases, the usual characteristics of this entity were present, but with the peculiarity of a high mitotic index. We discuss the differential diagnosis of cutaneous epithelioid angiomatous nodules with other vascular proliferations that exhibit epithelioid cytology.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is an uncommon tumor of the head and neck. Although it is mainly located in the salivary gland, a skin location has also been described. Metastases are rare, but 50 % of the cases relapse. A 65-year-old male patient had a lesion in the upper lip. After resection, the histological diagnosis was adenoid cystic carcinoma. Treatment was completed with radiotherapy. Ten years later, a nodule was detected in the neck. Its histological diagnosis was lymphatic metastasis due to adenoid cystic carcinoma. Primary cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma is a very uncommon tumor in which treatment consists in extensive local excision with free margins. Radiotherapy is not curative and should be reserved for palliative treatments. Multicenter, prospective studies are necessary to determine the best treatment and especially the adjuvant treatment for adenoid cystic carcinoma.