Ceruminous Adenoma of the External Auditory Canal: A Case Report with Imaging and Pathologic Findings

Abstract EN

Ceruminous adenomas are benign tumors that are rare in humans and present with a nonspecific symptomatology.

The treatment of choice is surgical excision.

We present an 87-year-old woman who presented with a reddish, tender, round, soft mass of the outer third of the inferior wall of the left external auditory canal, discharging a yellowish fluid upon pressure.

Coincidentally, due to her poor general condition, this patient also showed symptoms consistent with chronic otitis media, parotitis, and cervical lymphadenopathy, such as otorrhea, through a ruptured tympanic membrane and swelling of the parotid gland and cervical lymph nodes.

The external auditory canal lesion was surgically excised under general anesthesia, utilizing a transmeatal approach.

The pathological diagnosis was ceruminous gland adenoma.

The tumor was made of tubular and cystic structures and embedded in a fibrous, focally hyalinized stroma.

Immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of two distinct cell populations.

The luminal cells expressed keratin 7, while peripheral (basal) cells expressed keratins 5/6, S100 protein, and p63.

The apocrine gland-related antigen GCDFP-15 was focally expressed by tumor cells.

The postoperative course was uneventful and at the 2-year follow-up no recurrence of the ceruminous adenoma was noted.