Malignant atrophic papulosis (Degos' syndrome).

A 29-year-old Japanese man with malignant atrophic papulosis had a 1-year history of scattered, asymptomatic, whitish or skin-colored papules, as well as erythematous papules with central atrophy showing a porcelain-like appearance on the trunk and extremities. Histologic examination revealed lymphocyte-mediated necrotizing vasculitis with considerable deposition of mucin in the dermis. The wedge-shaped necrosis of the dermis was not detected. Based on a review of the literature we think that this case represents the histologic features of the early skin lesions of malignant atrophic papulosis.