Benign sebaceous adenoma

Introduction

Sebaceous glands are located within the skin and they areresponsible for the production of the oil called sebum. They are commonlyattached to the hair follicles and are very important for the proper health andmoisturizing of the skin. These glands cover the entire body, and the onlyareas of the skin which do not contain sebaceous glands are the palms of thehands and the soles of the feet. These glands can be found in abundant amountson the face and the scalp. It is largely unknown what causes sebaceousneoplasms. Once before, they were regarded as solitary tumors, but lately theyhave been associated with carcinoma of the intestines and the larynx.

Epidemiology

It is not possible to pinpoint any particular geographiclocation which is involved with increased incidence of sebaceous adenoma. Sincesebaceous adenomas are actually defined as cutaneous adnexal neoplasms theycannot be associated with any sudden causes of death. Even though they may beassociated with a large number of serious medical conditions, it is only rarelythat they are associated with carcinomas. Some malignancies associated withsebaceous adenoma may indeed have a big metastatic potential and eventuallylead to death. It may also be important to stress out that sebaceous adenomasaffect both men and women in equal proportions and that there is nopredisposition for any particular race when it comes to this medical condition.Another interesting fact is that sebaceous adenomas mostly affect persons whoare over 50 years old.

Pathophysiology

For those who do not know, sebaceous glands are actuallysecretory structures which consist of ducts and lobules. Another importantinformation is that all the sebaceous glands inside the human body are actuallyderived from the basal layer of the epidermis. Sebaceous glands are usuallylocated very closely to the arrector pilli muscles and the hair folliclesinside the skin. Any sebaceous gland inside the human body may eventuallydevelop into a sebaceous neoplasm. Sebaceous neoplasm is a specific type oftumor. This type of tumor is medically referred to as the cutaneous adnexaltype of tumor and is commonly characterized by various different degrees ofsebaceous differentiation. When speaking in professional medical terms,sebaceous adenoma is commonly referred to as a benign epithelial type of neoplasm.The structure of this type of neoplasm is usually made of tumors which arecharacterized by well recognized sebaceous differentiation or sebaceous glandlike structures.