Ichthyosis developing in association with lymphogranulomatosis

The paper discusses acquired ichthyosis (ichthyosis acquisita), developing as paraneoplastic dermatosis, associated in 70% cases with lymphogranulomatosis (Hodgkin’s disease). Associations of acquired ichthyosis with non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, Kaposi’s sarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and cancer of the cervix uteri are rare. The pathogenesis is assumed to be associated with release of transforming growth factor-a responsible for proliferation of epithelial cells susceptible to it. The disease manifests at a later age than ichthyosis vulgaris and has similar clinical and histological signs. The process can be generalized, and the efflorescence regresses, sometimes completely, after radical removal of the tumor, while relapses of efflorescence and itching can indicate a relapse of cancer. A clinical case with acquired ichthyosis, developing in the presence of Hodgkin’s disease, is presented.

acquired ichthyosis, Hodgkin’s disease