Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus: variant of basal cell carcinoma or trichoblastoma? Case report

INTRODUCTION Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus (FeP) is a rare tumor that most often affects women aged between 40 and 60 years. Clinically FeP presents as a soft, usually solitary, polypoid or papillomatous well circumscribed tumor of skin color. It is typically located to the trunk and extremities. CASE REPORT: A 75 year old male presented to our Department complaining for the presence of a lesion of the dorsal region. His medical history was free except for several basal cell carcinoma (BCC) surgically excised. Clinical examination revealed a pigmented lesion in the back. The lesion was surgically excised and histopathology showed of a fibroepithelioma of Pinkus. DISCUSSION: Currently, FeP is considered a rare variant of basal cell carcinoma, with characteristic histopathological features, although this view is somewhat controversial as some authors considered FeP to be a variant of trichoblastoma. The pathogenesis of FeP is still under investigation. It is thought that a mutation in the tumor suppressor gene TP53 might predispose to the development of FeP. CONCLUSIONS: Our case is interesting for two reasons. First, in our case FeP is pigmented. Moreover we present a case of Fep in a patient with a history of BCC, a finding that supports the classification of fibroepithelioma of Pinkus as a variant of basal cell carcinoma.