[Dermatomyositis and colonic cancer. Review of the literature apropos of a case].

The authors report the case of a 56 year-old woman presenting with dermatomyositis revealing a cancer of the colon at the ganglial dissemination stage. Exeresis led to the regression of the dermatomyositis and allowed an attenuation of the steroid therapy. The muscular and cutaneous signs reappeared within six months, evidencing a metastatic hepatic dissemination. Death came within six months of the appearance of the dermatomyositis. The authors review the literature concerning dermatomyositis associated with cancers of the digestive tract in general, and of the colon in particular. This association is found in about 6 to 35% of cases of dermatomyositis, which is the most common paraneoplastic skin associated with cancers of the colon.