Malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms in a patient with endometrial adenocarcinoma--a case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND

In the world literature, uterine carcinoma associated with paraneoplastic malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms has been mentioned in two review articles. Endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with malignant acanthosis nigricans without tripe palms has been cited in three case reports, and endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with tripe palms without malignant acanthosis nigricans has been cited in one case report. We present the case of a patient with endometrial adenocarcinoma associated with acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms which we have been following for the past 7 years.

METHODS

Our 54-year-old patient had been operated for moderately differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma. She had also received postoperative radiotherapy.

RESULTS

Three years after surgery, tripe palms and acanthosis nigricans with generalized pruritus occurred. After treatment with etretinate, the skin symptoms were somewhat mitigated while the pruritus persisted. Six years after gynecologic treatment, a solitary inguinal metastatic lymph node of endometrial carcinoma was detected. Following lymphadenectomy there was additional but not complete mitigation of skin symptoms including pruritus.

CONCLUSIONS

In clinical practice the association of malignant acanthosis nigricans and tripe palms with endometrial adenocarcinoma is found extremely rarely. Although the survival time of adenocarcinoma patients with malignant acanthosis nigricans is short, our patient has been treated and followed for more than 7 years.