Cutaneous paraneoplastic syndromes

Cutaneous paraneoplastic syndromes are a large group of dermatoses that may be associated with an internal malignancy. Among these dermatoses are acanthosis nigricans, tripe palms, dermatitis herpetiformis, dermatomyositis, extramammary Paget's disease, hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy, pemphigus vulgaris, pruritus, pyoderma gangrenosum, Sweet's syndrome and reactive erythemas. Once the diagnosis of the dermatosis has been confirmed, an appropriate work-up should be undertaken to search for an underlying asymptomatic neoplasm in a patient without known cancer or to detect recurrent or metastatic disease in a patient with an established history of malignancy.