Acral erythemas induced by chemotherapy and graft-versus-host disease in adults with hematogenous malignancies

Acral erythema is being seen with increasing frequency in patients with hematologic malignancies, because of the administration of more aggressive high-dosage chemotherapy and the increasing use of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, which may be followed by the development of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease. The varieties induced by both drugs and graft-versus-host disease are grossly similar but can be differentiated on the basis of symptoms, medical history, and response to therapy. Each also has to be differentiated from the painless palmar erythema commonly associated with pregnancy and with chronic liver disease. When making such a diagnosis, attention to the clinical history and an awareness of the points of distinction will help the physician to determine the precipitating cause and initiate appropriate treatment promptly.