No abstract

A 75-year-old Caucasian female with a previous history of cutaneous lichen planus (LP) developed vesiculae and blisters on the lip. This special variant of oral LP is very rare and has to be distinguished from LP pemphigoides, bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, erythema multiforme, and herpes simplex virus infection. To date, there are only few reports on bullous oral LP on the lower lip. Although treatment is difficult, we successfully applied a topical combination of tretinoin 0.025% and triamcinolone 0.1%.

The porphyrias are clinically and genetically heterogeneous metabolic disorders resulting from a predominantly hereditary dysfunction of specific enzymes involved in heme biosynthesis. Today, the clinical, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of this fascinating group of diseases are well established. Recently, different in vitro and animal models have facilitated the investigation of etiopathologic mechanisms in the different types of porphyria and the development of causal treatment strategies such as pathway interference, enzyme replacement, and gene therapy. The continuous progress in basic science has made an invaluable contribution to the rapid translation of discoveries made in the laboratory into new diagnostics and therapeutics in the near future.

In lupus erythematosus (LE), vesicles and bullae are only rarely seen. However, in some instances such efflorescences might suggest an association with distinct cutaneous diseases, including erythema multiforme, toxic epidermal necrolysis or autoimmune blistering disorders such as bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, and dermatitis herpetiformis Duhring. Another blistering disease that has been described in association with cutaneous and systemic LE is porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). PCT is a metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of the fifth enzyme in heme biosynthesis, uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase. Here, we report on a 57-year-old Caucasian woman of Dutch origin with a medical history of mild cutaneous LE who developed skin fragility, blistering skin lesions, milia, and facial hypertrichosis. Subsequent porphyrin analysis in urine and feces confirmed the suspected simultaneous manifestation of LE and PCT.

Variegate porphyria is an acute hepatic porphyria resulting from a partial deficiency of protoporphyrinogen oxidase, the penultimate enzyme in haem biosynthesis. Cutaneous symptoms and acute neurovisceral attacks are well-known clinical characteristics of the disease. Less studied, however, is the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive type of liver cancer. We describe here two Swiss patients with variegate porphyria and this serious complication. Common risk factors, including alcohol over-consumption or chronic hepatitis, were absent in both patients. Interestingly, one patient carried mutation 1082-1083insC in the PPOX gene, a prevalent sequence deviation in the Swiss variegate porphyria population, which was also found in a French patient with variegate porphyria and hepatocellular carcinoma. Recent studies indicate that individuals with acute hepatic porphyria have a 36- to 61-fold increased risk of manifesting hepatocellular carcinoma. The incidence rate ratio in the Swiss population was estimated to be 34, comparable with those found in the French and Finnish populations. Because this tumour is associated with a rising mortality, we suggest regular screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in all patients with variegate porphyria.