Pityriasis rotunda. A cutaneous marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in South African blacks.

Although paraneoplastic phenomena occur frequently in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, cutaneous changes have rarely been reported. During the past two years, ten South African blacks with hepatocellular carcinoma and pityriasis rotunda have been seen in a single hospital. The rash affected the trunk, especially the lower back and buttocks. The lesions ranged in size from 1.5 to 25 cm and were always multiple. They had a characteristic circular or arcuate configuration with scaling and varying degrees of hyperpigmentation. Pityriasis rotunda may prove to be a useful cutaneous marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in South African blacks.