Abstract
A 12-year-old domestic short-haired cat was referred for evaluation of periocular masses. The tail had similar masses and was amputated previously by the referring veterinarian. On examination, multiple pigmented nodules, 3-15 mm in diameter, were found in the periocular skin, primarily involving the palpebral eyelid margin. A wedge excisional biopsy revealed small cuboidal cells forming multiple tubular and cystic structures indicative of apocrine cystadenomas, similar to apocrine hidrocystomas described in humans. The nodules were lanced followed by liquid nitrogen cryofreezing.
Highlights
Tumour and tumour-like lesions of the eyelids are more common in dogs than cats[32]
Apocrine sweat glands exist within the skin of the eyelid and the eyelid margin, where they are called glands of Moll, apocrine sweat gland tumours in this location are uncommon in small animals[3,19,27]
Multiple cystic lesions originating from apocrine sweat glands and resembling apocrine hidrocystomas of humans have been described in 2 separate papers involving eyelids of 5 Persian cats and 1 Himalayan cat[1,7,8]
Summary
Tumour and tumour-like lesions of the eyelids are more common in dogs than cats[32]. In the feline, malignant tumours outnumber benign types, with eyelid neoplasms essentially arising from the haired skin[10,22,32]. Multiple, soft and firm, locally extensive, pigmented nodules were found on the upper and lower palpebral margin, with smaller nodules extending caudally on the head and around the base of the left ear (Fig. 1). The nodules previously described on the tail appeared to have a similar presentation to the eyelid margin nodules. Fine-needle aspirates of the nodules were not taken during our evaluation based on previously published reports showing poor correlation of diagnostic cytology for apocrine hidrocystomas. An excisional wedge biopsy sample was taken from a smaller nodule on the ventral eyelid margin to rule out the possibility of other eyelid tumours. The cells lining the cysts were small cuboidal epithelial cells arranged in proliferating multiple layers, or often with a bilayered appearance typical of the apocrine sweat glands.
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