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Charles Camisa, MD; Thomas N. Helm, MD

Arch Dermatol. 1993;129(7):883-886.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

A relationship between pemphigus and internal malignancy has been recognized for a long time. Some authors have suggested that patients with pemphigus have a greater incidence of malignancy, perhaps related to immunosuppressive treatment,¹ while others have noted a strong statistical association with both thymic and nonthymic neoplasms.² Immunoglobulins isolated from tumors have been shown to have reactivity similar to pemphigus intercellular substance antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence.³ The importance of these findings was unclear until Anhalt and colleagues⁴ published their seminal observations regarding five patients with a distinct blistering disorder and underlying malignancy. Serum samples obtained from their patients all showed unique banding patterns by immunoprecipitation that corresponded to autoantibodies to desmoplakins I and II, the major bullous pemphigoid antigen, and an as yet unidentified 190-kd protein. Clinical findings included a blistering eruption with stomatitis and conjunctivitis. Treatment results were disappointing, as four of the five patients were known to die of their disease. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Department of Dermatology A-61 Cleveland Clinic Foundation 9500 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44195

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