Skin tumor - Nonmelanocytic - Vellus hair cyst

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Skin - Nonmelanocytic tumors

Cysts

Vellus hair cyst

Reviewer: Christopher Hale, M.D. (see Reviewers page)
Revised: 29 June 2012, last major update June 2012
Copyright: (c) 2001-2012, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

General
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● Children and young adults, also called eruptive vellus hair cyst
● Small, multiple cysts over chest wall and extremities

Case reports
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● 15 year old with papules on trunk/extremities (Dermatology 2012;224:15)

Gross description
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● Skin-colored or brown/blue papulonodules, 3–6 mm, smooth surface

Micro description
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● Cyst lined by flattened, follicular sheath epithelium
● Contains numerous vellus hairs and soft keratinous material in lumen

Micro images
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Cyst lining is thin and squamous; lumen contains abundant thin vellus hairs

Positive stains
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● keratins 1/10, calretinin, p63

Negative stains
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● EMA, filaggrin androgen receptors (Dermatology 2012;224:15)

Differential diagnosis
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● Pigmented follicular cyst
● Steatocystoma multiplex

End of Skin - Nonmelanocytic tumors > Cysts > Vellus hair cyst

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