Incidental Clear Cell Syringoma of the Scalp in a Patient With Lichen Planopilaris

A 71-year-old woman with hair loss due to lichen planopilaris was found to have an incidental clear cell syringoma, a benign tumor of the sweat ducts, during a scalp biopsy. This finding is rare but has been previously reported in a total of 18 patients, including 16 women aged 33 to 83 years and a 47-year-old man, with alopecia durations ranging from six months to 22 years. The frontal scalp was the most affected area. Before biopsy, female pattern alopecia was often misdiagnosed, while after biopsy, pseudopelade was the most common diagnosis. The presence of syringomas and syringomatous proliferation in areas of hair loss may be due to reactive changes associated with subclinical alopecia.