Abstract

Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare malignant epithelial tumor and has diverse clinical presentations as well as a variety of histologic patterns. Although the overwhelming majority of sebaceous carcinomas occur on the eyelid, they may also arise where sebaceous gland and hair are found together, but they favor the head and neck. We report a case of sebaceous carcinoma of the umbilicus in a 68-year-old man who had suffered from a long standing recurrent Bowen's disease of 23 years. The recurrent Bowen's disease in this patient appeared to be closely related to multiple arsenic medication 49 years and 39 years earlier. The excised specimen of umbilicus revealed a well demarcated, 1.5x1 cm sized tumor with grey-yellow hue. The tumor was identified as sebaceous carcinoma, which was characterized by lobular and comedo-carcinoma patterns. The tumor cells showed cytoplasmic foamy vacuolation, nuclear pleomorphism, and high mitotic activity. On an Oil-Red-O stain, the tumor cells were found to contain fine lipid droplets. The intracytoplasmic lipid vacuoles were demonstrated by an electron microscopic examination.

• Keywords: Sebaceous carcinoma;Bowen's disease;Arsenic medication