Mucinous eccrine adenocarcinomacancer arising from mucus-producing glands in organs (MEA) is a very rare type of cancera disease where abnormal cells split without control and spread to other nearby body tissue and/or organs that originates in sweat glands of the body. It is most commonly found in the eyelid, but can also be found in the scalp, face, armpit, chest/abdominal cavity, vulva, neck, extremities, eyes, groinarea between the abdomen and thighs, and ears.
There are two primary types of sweat glands in the body: eccrine, and apocrine. Eccrine sweat glands are located all over the body, and open directly onto the surface of the skin. Their primary function is to assist the regulation of body temperature. Comparatively, apocrine sweat glands open into hair follicles, and generally develop in areas abundant in hair follicles (such as the scalp, armpits, and groin). Apocrine glands play no role in the regulation of body temperature, and are responsible for producing body odour.
MEAs are more common in males, and tend to be diagnosed over the age of 60. Caucasian ethnicities may be higher riskthe possibility that something bad will happen than other ethnic groups. However, anyone can develop this disease.
Treatment
Due to the rarity of MEA, there is no standard stagingthe process of determining how big the cancer is, where it started and if it has spread to other areas and grading system for this disease. Your doctor will check for signs of metastasiswhen the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, also known as mets (cancer spread to other parts of the body), and how the cancer cellsthe basic structural and functional unit of all living things look under the microscope to help guide treatment options.
Your doctor may also recommend genetic testinga procedure that analyses DNA to identify changes in genes, chromosomes and proteins, which can be used to analyse tumour DNA to help determine which treatment has the greatest chance of success, which analyses your tumoura tissue mass that forms from groups of unhealthy cells DNA and can help determine which treatment has the greatest chance of success. They will then discuss the most appropriate treatment option for you.
Treatment is dependent on several factors, including location, stage of disease and overall health.
Treatment options for MEA may include:
- Surgerytreatment involving removal of cancerous tissue and/or tumours and a margin of healthy tissue around it to reduce recurrence, potentially including:
- Tumour excisionto surgically remove/cut out.
- Mohs micrographic surgeryspecialised surgery that removes thin layers of cancer in stages until completely removed.
- Lymphadenectomysurgical removal of lymph node(s).
- Radiation therapya treatment that uses controlled doses of radiation to damage or kill cancer cells (limited).
- Chemotherapya cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells, while minimising damage to healthy cells (limited).
- Clinical trialsresearch studies performed to test new treatments, tests or procedures and evaluate their effectiveness on various diseases.
- Palliative carea variety of practices and exercises used to provide pain relief and improve quality of life without curing the disease.
Risk factors
Because of how rare MEAs are, there has been limited research done into the risk factors of this disease.
Symptoms
Early symptoms of MEA may include:
- Firm lump.
- Discolouration of affected area, ranging from mildly discoloured, to grey, blue, pink and/or red.
- Smooth, bumpy and/or crusty surface of affected area.
- Easy bleeding of affected area.
- Alopeciathe partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows; baldness (if tumour is in the scalp).
Not everyone with the symptoms above will have cancer, but see your general practitioner (GP) if you are concerned.
Diagnosis
If your doctor suspects you have an MEA, they may order the following tests to confirm the diagnosisthe process of identifying a disease based on signs and symptoms, patient history and medical test results and refer you to a specialist for treatment:
- Physical examinationan examination of your current symptoms, affected area(s) and overall medical history.
- Imagingtests that create detailed images of areas inside the body tests.
- Blood teststesting done to measure the levels of certain substances in the blood.
- Biopsyremoval of a section of tissue to analyse for cancer cells.