Familial cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas: case report

Cutaneous leiomyomas are rare, benign tumors arising from the arrectores pilorum muscles of the skin, the tunica dartos of the scrotum, muscles of the areola of the nipple, and vulvar or vascular smooth muscles. Multiple cutaneous leiomyomas originate from the arrectores pilorum muscles of the skin (piloleiomyomata cutis). Occasionally, they seem hereditary and may be associated with uterine myomas. We present a family in which the mother and 4 of her 6 daughters had uterine myomas. All sisters had to undergo hysterectomy before the age of 40, and three of them had multiple cutaneous leiomyomas simultaneously. Our observations support the suggestion that this kind of leiomyomas is a disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete gene penetration. Moreover, the data indicate the necessity of periodical examinations to rule out the presence of uterine myomas not only in cutaneous leiomyoma patients, but also in other women in a given family.