Acrospiromas are a broad class of benign cutaneous adnexal tumors. Cutaneous adnexal tumors are a group of skin tumors consisting of tissues that have differentiated (i.e. matured from

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

s) towards one or more of the four primary adnexal structures found in normal skin:

hair follicles The hair follicle is an organ found in mammalian skin. It resides in the dermal layer of the skin and is made up of 20 different cell types, each with distinct functions. The hair follicle regulates hair growth via a complex interaction between h ...

, sebaceous sweat glands,

apocrine sweat glands An apocrine sweat gland (; from Greek ''apo'' 'away' and ''krinein'' 'to separate') is composed of a coiled secretory portion located at the junction of the dermis and subcutaneous fat, from which a straight portion inserts and secretes into the ...

, and

eccrine sweat glands Eccrine sweat glands (; from Greek ''ekkrinein'' 'secrete'; sometimes called merocrine glands) are the major sweat glands of the human body, found in virtually all skin, with the highest density in palm and soles, then on the head, but much less ...

. Acrospiromas are thought to derive from apocrine or eccrine sweat gland ducts near their acrosyringium, i.e. point where these ducts open to the skin's surface. The acrosporma group of tumors consists of: 1) the hidradenomas, including their eccrine acrospiroma, clear cell hidradenoma (also termed clear cell acrospiroma), nodular hidradenoma (also termed nodular acrospiroma, clear cell myoepithelioma, and eccrine sweat gland adenoma of the clear cell type), and solid-cystic hidradenoma variants; 2) the

myoepithelioma Myoepithelioma of the head and neck, also myoepithelioma, is a salivary gland tumour of the head and neck that is usually benign. When malignant, which is exceedingly rare, they are known as malignant myoepithelioma or Myoepithelial carcinoma, and ...

s; and 3) the

poroma Poromas are rare, benign, cutaneous adnexal tumors. Cutaneous adnexal tumors are a group of skin tumors consisting of tissues that have differentiated (i.e. matured from stem cells) towards one or more of the four primary adnexal structures fo ...

s, particularly their dermal duct tumor (also termed dermal duct poroma) and hidroacanthoma simplex variants. However, the literature on the acrospiromas is confusing and often terms their variants with different and interchangeable names. Acrospiromas, while by definition benign skin tumors, may recur at the sites of their surgical removal and, uncommonly, progress to malignant tumors such as the malignant hidradenomas, i.e. hidradenocarcinomas, malignant myoepitheliomas, and malignant poromas, i.e. porocarcinomas. Further information on the acrospiromas, malignant acrospiromas, and their variants are in the linkages to them in this article.

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* Epidermal nevi, neoplasms, and cysts {{Dermatology-stub

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