Porphyria cutanea tarda in a patient with acute leukemia

A 20-year-old woman with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in remission was treated postremission with intermittent courses of intensive chemotherapy. She required blood and platelet transfusions following therapy, and oral contraceptives were used to suppress her menses while she was thrombocytopenic. One and one-half years after treatment began, she developed blisters on her hands, hypertrichosis, and dark urine. The diagnosis of porphyria cutanea tarda was made. This report discusses the possible precipitating cause(s) and the subsequent treatment of both her porphyria and her leukemia.