Bengaluru doctor treats rare form of skin cancer

A patient from Nigeria was treated at Cytecare Cancer Hospital

The first treatment for a rare form of skin cancer, Syringocystadeno carcinoma paplliferum, was recently diagnosed and treated by Dr Anthony Pais, a renowned breast cancer surgeon as well as Co-founder and Clinical Director, Cytecare, at Cytecare Cancer Hospital Bengaluru. Amina, a patient from Nigeria, was treated for this rare form of skin cancer.

At a recently held press conference, Dr Pais, said, “There are two types of skin cancer — melanoma and non-melanoma. All over the globe if you take the percentage of skin cancer cases, most of them are non-melanoma. Among all the non-melanoma skin cancers, 75 per cent of them are basal cell cancers; 20 per cent of them are squamous cell cancers and about two per cent of them being adnexal skin tumours. Most of these adnexal tumours are benign. The rarity of this adnexal skin cancer involving the breast is the rarest of the rare cancer. In this case, the problem started with the wart and with a birth mark close by, which is technically called a nevus. This grew over a period of time involving the breast. Most often it is benign but there is 10 per cent chance of being malignant.”

Reflecting upon the diagnosis, he said, “It is very difficult to know about the disease or diagnose it at an early stage. So, there is no precaution and can’t be prevented. Moreover, it is not genetic. Excessive exposure to sunlight can be one of the reasons and so our farmers are at a greater risk. One might diagnose this case to be that of a breast cancer and a wrong diagnosis means unnecessary chemotherapy. The treatment is for the skin cancer arising on the breast infiltrating into it. So, proper surgery and radiotherapy is the answer. Even mammography is of no help, as it can detect only breast cancer and not the type of skin cancer on the breast. So, self-examination of the breast including the skin is the only precaution one can take.”

Speaking at the briefing, Suresh Ramu, Co-Founder and CEO, Cytecare said, “Fighting cancer the right way is our philosophy and this case helps us to demonstrate our principle loud and clear. We practice approaches that help us to diagnose and treat cancer with utmost accuracy and precision”