Porphyria cutanea tarda and scleroderma--chance association or related disease: a case report

The concurrence of systemic scleroderma and porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) seems very rare. Only six cases have been reported to our knowledge. On the other hand, cutaneous sclerodermatous lesions in PCT occur more frequently and can affect 1.8-18% of cases. These observations raise the problem of a possible physiopathological relation between scleroderma and PCT. In fact, Grossman and colleagues have found anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) in 38% of patients so tested. In the present report, the association of systemic scleroderma and PCT with Sjögren's syndrome and anti-RNP antibodies raises further questions concerning the relationship between PCT and auto-immune diseases.