Dexamethasone cyclophosphamide pulse therapy in lichen amyloidosus: a case report

To clear the itching and lesions of lichen amyloidosus completely, which is a chronic, troublesome disease of the skin with variable results from various therapeutic modalities.

Dexamethasone cyclophosphamide pulse (DCP) therapy was given to a 53-year-old man with lichen amyloidosus of 3 months duration. DCP therapy comprises an intravenous infusion of 100 mg dexamethasone in 500 ml of 5% glucose over 1-1(1/2) hours on 3 consecutive days. On day 1, cyclophosphamide 500 mg was also given through the same drip. DCP therapy was repeated at 4-week intervals. In between, the patient received 50 mg of cyclophosphamide orally daily.

The itching stopped completely after five DCP sessions and all the lesions cleared after nine DCP sessions with no relapse during 30 months of follow-up after stopping the treatment.

DCP therapy is an effective alternative for lichen amyloidosus.