A review of dermatomyositis cases at Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur 1989-1993.

Eight cases of dermatomyositis were seen in the Skin Department, Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur between 1989 and 1993. There was one case of juvenile dermatomyositis. There was a majority of Chinese patients (87.5%). There were three patients (37.5%) with underlying malignancies, two of which (66.7%) were nasopharyngeal carcinomas; all were under the age of fifty years. It is important to screen all adult patients for underlying malignancies, even those in the younger age group.