Porphyria cutanea tarda and pregnancy

A female patient with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) clinically cured by a low-dose chloroquine treatment showed neither exacerbation of the disease nor an increased excretion of urinary porphyrins during pregnancy. The role of estrogens and gestagens as clinical manifestation factors of PCT is discussed. According to our observation the porphyrogenic effect of the estrogens seems to have been overestimated.