Cutaneous manifestations of systemic malignancies: part 2

Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1)-Associated Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma in a Patient Previously Treated for Strongyloidiasis

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a rare form of T-cell lymphoma with poor median survival time and limited response to chemotherapy. We present a 45-year-old female from Ghana with generalized body rash, hypercalcemia, lymphadenopathy, and lytic bone lesions. She had a history of strongyloidiasis, treated two years ago, and her serology was positive for the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). Histopathology of cervical lymph node and abdominal rash biopsy revealed T-cell lymphoma. We present a literature review on the topic and the challenges of diagnosis. We emphasize the importance of considering HTLV-1-associated ATLL in patients who have been treated for strongyloidiasis in the past and are presenting with rash or lymphadenopathy.

Obligate and facultative paraneoplastic dermatoses: an overview

Dermatological paraneoplastic syndromes are a group of cutaneous diseases associated with malignancy, but not directly related to the primary tumor itself or to its metastases. It is of utmost importance for the dermatologist to recognize the major cutaneous paraneoplastic syndromes to diagnose the underlying tumors that trigger them as early as possible. In this overview, skin conditions that are highly correlated with malignancy, whose recognition implies a mandatory investigation of internal cancer, are described.

Exfoliative erythroderma as a paraneoplastic presentation of adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder

We report a case of a 71-year-old Caucasian male presenting with an exfoliative skin rash all over his body. The patient was also found to have a huge gall bladder mass extending into the liver that turned out to be adenocarcinoma of the gall bladder on biopsy. Gall bladder cancer usually presents with abdominal pain, swelling or jaundice. We report only the second case in literature of a gall bladder adenocarcinoma presenting with exfoliative erythroderma as its paraneoplastic presentation.

Breast cancer presenting as paraneoplastic erythroderma: an extremely rare case

The skin may exhibit the first clinical evidence of a systemic disease and may provide the first clues to a diagnosis in malignancies. Erythroderma is defined as generalized redness and scaling and it is a clinical manifestation of a variety of underlying diseases including, rarely, solid tumors. Breast cancer is associated with a variety of skin paraneoplastic manifestations like acanthosis nigricans, erythromelalgia, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, acrokeratosis paraneoplastica, dermatomyositis, systemic sclerosis, and scleroderma. However, in the literature, the correlation of erythroderma with breast cancer is quite infrequent. Here, we describe a case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with a paraneoplastic manifestation of erythroderma due to breast cancer.