Eccrine Duct Dilation as a Marker of Cicatricial Alopecia

September 2016 in “ The American Journal of Dermatopathology ”

Timothy L. Tan, Joan Guitart, Pedram Gerami, Pedram Yazdan

Studysummary This study found that eccrine duct dilation is significantly more frequent in cicatricial alopecias compared to noncicatricial alopecias, possibly due to the scarring process. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

A 55-year-old man presented with an ulceroproliferative growth on his right lower lip, initially suspected to be squamous cell carcinoma. However, a biopsy revealed epithelial hyperplasia, and further histopathological examination showed epithelioid cell granulomas with Langhans type multinucleated histiocytes and central caseous necrosis, leading to a diagnosis of tuberculosis of the lip. The patient did not undergo culture but was treated with anti-tuberculosis medication for 6 months and fully recovered. This case is notable because oral tuberculosis is rare, accounting for only 0.2%-1.5% of extrapulmonary cases, and it typically presents as a chronic nonhealing ulcer rather than an ulceroproliferative growth, making this case an uncommon presentation in medical literature.

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