Lichenoid sarcoidosis: a case with clinical and histopathological lichenoid features

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology, characterized by the formation of noncaseating granulomas in the involved organs. Cutaneous involvement is about 25% with different clinical expressions, the lichenoid pattern being one of the rarest types of cutaneous sarcoidosis. Lichenoid sarcoidosis clinically manifests with multiple scale papules involving extensive skin areas, especially the trunk, limbs, and face mimicking a lichen planus. Although diverse histologic patterns have been previously related, a lichenoid granulomatous infiltrate involving the dermo-epidermal junction has never been reported in lichenoid sarcoidosis. We report a case of a 43-year-old woman presenting with skin-colored pruritic papules, slightly scaling in trunk, extremities, and ears. These symptoms condition continued to expand and worsen for several years. The patient was otherwise in good health with no lymphadenopathies. Histopathologic examination of a skin biopsy showed an upper dermal granulomatous infiltrate of epithelioid cells, without necrosis, distributed in a lichenoid pattern with many cytoid bodies. We consider this may be the first case presenting a characteristic microscopic granulomatous lichen-like pattern in the setting of a clinically lichenoid type of sarcoidosis.