Clear cells

Clear Cells in Dermis                   See DX Path for details of the conditions below

Clear Cells

First of all there are lots of Clear cell tumours and Clear cell variants of many tumours. The cells are clear because they contain glycogen, mucin or lipid that has been removed during the fixation process.

Important Clear cells are those invading the Epidermis and showing Pagetoid spread. The diagnoses here include melanoma, Pagets or Extramammary Pagets, SCC and Merkel cell variants.

Clear cells in the basal layer either as single cells or as nests may be Toker cells as seen in Clear Cell Papulosis with either white macules in the milk line in children or as flaky areas on the nipple in females where mammary Pagets comes into the DD.

Xanthomas

Eruptive Xanthoma

Sebaceous adenomas or carcinomas

Sebaceous Carcinoma

Balloon cell melanoma

Balloon Nevus

Renal cell carcinoma metastasis

Metastatic renal clear cell carcinoma

Cryptococcosis

Cutaneous cryptococcosis

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis

Xanthogranuloma

Juvenile xanthogranuloma