Herpes zoster and occult malignancy.

Herpes zoster and malignancy have both been associated with conditions of immune suppression. It has been well documented that herpes zoster occurs more frequently in patients with a previously diagnosed malignancy, especially lymphoma. To determine whether there is an increased frequency of malignancy subsequent to the diagnosis of herpes zoster, we studied fifty outpatients with herpes zoster and compared them with fifty control patients with psoriasis. In a follow-up period ranging from 24 to 68 months, one individual in the herpes zoster group developed a subsequent malignancy, in comparison to none in the control population and to 1.5 cancer cases expected in the general population. These results support the view that herpes zoster is not a marker for an occult malignancy.