[Xeroderma pigmentosum: prevention of tumors with etretinate]

A 46-year-old woman with xeroderma pigmentosum has had more than one hundred skin tumours in her life, in recent years largely keratoacanthomas. Two and a half years ago, a low-dose prophylactic treatment with etretinate (25 mg/day) was initiated. Since then, no further skin tumours have arisen except for several very small, rapidly resolving keratoacanthomas.