An autopsy case of apocrine adenocarcinoma of left axilla: Cytology and immunohistochemical features

Background: Apocrine adenocarcinoma is a rare condition only sporadically reports in short series in the literature. We report the cytological features of apocrine adenocarcinoma originating in the right axial. Case: A 68-year-old man had a left axial apocrine adenocarcinoma resected 3 years before. Due to skin and lung metastasis, he was treated with chemotherapy and radiaton therapy. However, pleural effusion progressively increased and he died of respiratory failure. An autopsy examination disclosed lung, adrenal, and retroperitoneum metastasis. Histological examination showed that tumor cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and prominent nucleoli were positive for EMA, GCDFP-15, and B 72.3 but negative for CEA, α-SMA, PgR, and ER. Cytological examination of sputum, pleural effusion, and urine in vivo showed tumor clusters arranged in sheets. Tumor cells consisted of oval nuclei with prominent nucleoli and nuclear groove and having abundant cytoplasm. Tumor cells were positive for GCDFP-15 and B 72.3. Conclusion: Cytological features retained the characteristic cytological appearance of apocrine sweat glands and positive for GCDFP-15 and B 72.3, which enable a diagnosis of carcinoma of apocrine sweat gland origin.