Uncommon but Not Elusive: A Case of Syringocystadenoma Papilliferum in the External Auditory Canal

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 11; p. e49685
• Main Authors: Shirani, Tabitha, Rahim, Suhana, Ahmad Tarmizi, Nur Eliana, Mohan Singh, Avatar Singh, Hui Heng, Chua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cureus Inc 29.11.2023
• Subjects: Audiometry; Cancer; Case reports; Exocrine glands; Head & neck cancer; Hearing loss; Hearing protection; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical diagnosis; Neck; Puberty; Tumors; head and neck neoplasms; ceruminous gland tumors; head and neck pathologies; external auditory ear canal; syringocystadenoma papilliferum
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.49685

Ceruminous glands are modified apocrine sweat glands that are situated in the cartilaginous segment of the external auditory canal. Ceruminous gland tumors only account for about 5% to 5.7% of all external ear tumors. Syringocystadenoma papilliferum (SCAP) is a slow-growing and benign neoplasm that originates from the apocrine or eccrine sweat glands. It is also the rarest of all ceruminous gland neoplasms and only accounts for 2% of these cases. This is the 19 reported case of SCAP in the external auditory canal in the English literature. The definite diagnosis of SCAP is confirmed histologically due to varied differentials from its clinical appearance. The mainstay treatment of SCAP is surgical excision of the tumor, in our case, we obtained an incisional biopsy to aid in the diagnosis and then proceeded with an excisional biopsy. The patient has no signs of tumor recurrence post-operatively. A detailed review of the clinical, radiographic, and histomorphological characteristics of SCAP is discussed.