ABSTRACT
A 25-year-old woman was seen for a painless subcutaneous mass of 2 years duration. On excisional biopsy, a collapsed cystic structure lined by stratified, ciliated, columnar epithelium was noted. These linning cells did not produce mucin. Immunohistochemical staining for progesterone receptor, estrogen receptor and epithelial membrane antigen was positive, whereas it was negative for carcinoembryonic antigen. Findings were consistent with cutaneous ciliated cyst (CCC). CCCs are rare, predominantly occurring on the lower extremities of young women. Most of them have been regarded as Mullerian remnants. A case of a CCC in the subcutaneous area is reported.
Subject(s)
Adult , Biopsy , Cysts/diagnosis , Cysts/pathology , Cysts/surgery , Female , Histocytochemistry , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Microscopy , Mucin-1/analysis , Receptors, Estrogen/analysis , Receptors, Progesterone/analysis , Subcutaneous Tissue/pathology , Subcutaneous Tissue/surgeryABSTRACT
Farmer and Helwig coined the term cutaneous ciliated cyst in 1978 to describe specific skin cysts lined with ciliated epithelium a resembling the mucosa of the fallopian tube. Twenty case, of cutaneous ciliated cysts have been published to date. All have been found to affect the lower limb and all patients have been women. The etiology of the cyst is as yet unknown. A 37-year-old woman had a cyst excised from the left buttock. Microscopically, the lining epithelium of the cyst wall was composed of columnar cilited cells similar to those seen in the fallopian tubes. Immunoperoxidase stainings for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen were positive.