Isolated cutaneous involvement in a child with nodal anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a common childhood T-cell and B-cell neoplasm that originates primarily from lymphoid tissue. Cutaneous involvement can be in the form of a primary extranodal lymphoma, or secondary to metastasis from a non-cutaneous location. The latter is uncommon, and isolated cutaneous involvement is rarely reported. We report a case of isolated secondary cutaneous involvement from nodal anaplastic large cell lymphoma (CD30 + and ALK +) in a 7-year-old boy who was on chemotherapy. This case is reported for its unusual clinical presentation as an acute febrile, generalized papulonodular eruption that mimicked deep fungal infection, with the absence of other foci of systemic metastasis.

Development of leukocytoclastic vasculitis in a patient with multiple myeloma during treatment with thalidomide.

Thalidomide, an agent with antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory properties, is therapeutically effective in multiple myeloma, leprosy, and autoimmune diseases. The most common clinical toxicities of thalidomide are constipation, neuropathy, fatigue, sedation, rash, tremor, and edema. We here describe for the first time a patient who developed leukocytoclastic vasculitis during therapy with thalidomide. Of the 260 patients treated with thalidomide in our institution, this is the first patient who developed autoimmune disease. We conclude that patients with malignant disorders who are treated with thalidomide should be carefully monitored for the development of autoimmune disorders. Whether autoimmune phenomena also occur during treatment with new drugs such as PS-341 or potent immunomodulatory agents remains to be evaluated.