Porphyria cutanea tarda associated with lymphoma

Three patients with porphyria cutanea tarda and lymphoma were seen at the Mayo Clinic. In one patient, the signs and symptoms of porphyria cutanea tarda and lymphoma occurred simultaneously, whereas in the other two, the porphyria was seen before the lymphoma occurred, three years before in one and one and a half years before in the other. Involvement of liver or marrow was not related to the development of porphyria cutanea tarda in any of the 3 patients. The porphyria cutanea tarda was not eased by radiotherapy or chemotherapy of the lymphoma, although it was probably less symptomatic after the patients were treated. While a relationship between porphyria cutanea tarda and lymphoma is speculative, confirmation will require a closer scrutiny of patients with these two diseases.