Clear Cell Papulosis: A Case Report.

Abstract

Clear cell papulosis (CCP) is an extremely rare entity, as only about two dozen cases have been reported to date in the English literature [1]. In CCP, white papules arise and cluster bilaterally along the mammary line, usually over the lower abdomen and pubis [2]. There is a predisposition for persons of Asian or Hispanic descents and most cases have been found in healthy children younger than 6 years old [1,3]. Typically, the lesions spontaneously resolve with age [4]. Microscopically, the lesions are composed of aberrant cells derived from sweat gland epithelial cells that grow in a pagetoid pattern in the epidermis [2]. CCP provides evidence for the potential precursor cells for cutaneous Paget’s disease [5]. Pathologists should include CCP in the differential diagnosis of whitish maculopapular lesions in the mammary line.