Therapeutic implications of an intraoral malignancy complicated by Darier-White's disease

A 69-year-old white male with a long history of severe Darier-White's disease presented with an extensive intraoral malignancy. High dose external supervoltage radiotherapy (Cobalt-60) to the tumour caused remarkable clearing of the hyperkeratotic lesions involving the overlying skin. Subsequently, surgical resection of the tumour with staged reconstruction of the jaw was carried out. The presence of the skin disorder did not adversely affect the surgical procedure nor the subsequent wound healing. Darier-White's disease, therefore, should not be a deterrent to radical radiotherapy and/or surgery for concomitant malignancy.