INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE APOCRINE GLAND COMPONENT IN BASAL CELL EPITHELIOMA

[摘要] The piliary system, the pilosebaceous anlage or primary epithelial germ often have been described as the source of basal cell epithelioma. Glandular differentiation in tumors of such origin should follow the pattern and characteristics of the apocrine gland. Examination of 210 basal cell tumors has been undertaken to determine either functional or morphologic evidence of an apocrine gland component in basal cell epithelioma. Examination of the cells of basal cell epithelioma for alkaline and acid phosphatase activity, and for deposits of glycogen, lipoid and iron revealed no positive evidence of functional activity which could be attributed to a glandular component in these tumors. It is extremely rare (2 in 210 cases) to find cellular formations within basal cell epitheliomas, which by morphology and polarity of the cells answer the criteria of glandular structure. The possibility of an apocrine gland component in basal cell epithelioma is not eliminated. However, except for the 2 instances in which apocrine gland morphology was fairly convincingly demonstrable, no positive evidence of apocrine gland participation in the formation of basal cell epithelioma was found.