The tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 is a novel promising class of anticancer drugs. We report a case of cutaneous adverse reactions to STI571 in a young woman with blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia. She had first typical acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis mimicking mercury rash and then urticarial eruption. We suggest that cell pathways mediated by some tyrosine kinases might be involved in the pathogenesis of these skin eruptions.

Although clinical and histological features in our case fit the diagnosis of bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome, they may also correspond to a pustular variant of pyoderma gangrenosum. Our observation raises the question of the nosological classification of bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome within the spectrum of neutrophilic diseases.