Sebaceous Carcinoma

Sebaceous (pronounced “suh-BAY-shus”) carcinoma is a rare skin cancer that develops in your skin’s oil-producing glands. “Sebaceous” means oil-producing.

The cancer most commonly affects your eyelids, but can develop almost anywhere on your body. That’s because you have sebaceous glands underneath most of your skin, especially where there’s hair. These glands secrete an oily substance called sebum that protects your body from germs.

Is sebaceous carcinoma aggressive?

Sebaceous carcinoma is an aggressive skin cancer, which means it spreads quickly. Cancer that spreads outside of the original tumor is metastatic cancer.

What are other names for sebaceous carcinoma?

“Carcinoma” is the medical term for cancer. Healthcare providers may also refer to sebaceous carcinoma as sebaceous gland carcinoma or sebaceous gland adenocarcinoma or meibomian (pronounced “my-BOW-me-en”) gland carcinoma. The meibomian gland is a specific sebaceous gland that only exists in your eyelids.

How common is sebaceous carcinoma?

Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare cancer. About 5% to 10% of skin cancers are eyelid tumors. Only around 1% of these cancers are sebaceous carcinoma.

Sebaceous carcinoma mainly affects women and people assigned female at birth and people ages 60 to 80. However, younger and older adults and children can also get this skin cancer.

Symptoms

When to see a doctor

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Complications

Blood clots are a dangerous complication of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Blood clots can lead to stroke.

The risk of stroke from AFib increases as you grow older. Other health conditions also may increase the risk of a stroke due to AFib. These conditions include:

High blood pressure.
Diabetes.
Heart failure.
Some types of heart valve disease.

Blood thinners are commonly prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes in people with atrial fibrillation.

Prevention

Healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart disease and may prevent atrial fibrillation (AFib). Here are some basic heart-healthy tips:

Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce and manage stress.

By Freedmans Health Clinic Staff

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