Grover’s Disease Treated With Total Skin Electron Beam Radiotherapy

April 2019 | Volume 18 | Issue 4 | Case Reports | 392 | Copyright © April 2019


Paul Renz DO,a Shaakir Hasan DO,b Joseph C. English MD,b Rodney E. Wegner MD,a Jaroslaw Jedrych MD,c Jonhan Ho MD,c Athanasios Colonias MDa

aAllegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, Division of Radiation Oncology, Pittsburgh, PA bUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Dermatology, Pittsburgh, PA cUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Dermatopathology, Pittsburgh, PA

Abstract
Persistent Grover's disease can cause significant symptoms of pruritus thereby decreasing quality of life. Many patients undergo successful conservative management of their disease; however, a subset of patients is recalcitrant despite multiple lines of therapy. Accordingly, we present, to our knowledge, the first reported case of recalcitrant Grover's disease treated successfully with radiotherapy. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(4):392-393.

INTRODUCTION

Biologics for moderate-to-severe psoriasis have transformed the management of the disease. The risk of developing malignancy during biologic treatment is an important yet controversial consideration in medication choice. One study found that long-term treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor biologics—but not ustekinumab or methotrexate—was associated with an increased risk of malignancy.1 Another study found that biologics did not increase the risk of malignancy compared to non-biologics.2 Additionally, others have found that cumulative length of exposure to biologic therapies in psoriasis patients is not linked with a higher risk of cancer.3Less is known about the effects of biologics in patients with prior malignancy. In clinical trials for biologic medications, patients with cancer diagnosed within 5 years are automatically excluded. Studies looking at biologics registry data did not find an increased risk of malignancy in rheumatoid arthritis patients with prior malignancies, but there are no such studies on psoriasis patients.4,5

METHODS

We preformed a retrospective chart review of patients with psoriasis and a history of malignancy who were treated with biologics or apremilast. A report listing all patients with “specialty” in their medication list between January 1st, 2012 and May 31st, 2018 was created in the electronic medical records system for the Tufts Medical Center Department of Dermatology. This time frame included the start date of the electronic medical records system for our clinic. Thirty patients taking tofacitinib were removed, leaving 690 patients on biologics or apremilast. Biologics included adalimumab, infliximab, etanercept, ustekinumab, guselkumab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, certolizumab, and golimumab. Charts were reviewed for three criteria: 1) psoriasis diagnosis, 2) treatment with biologics or apremilast and 3) history of malignancy excluding non-melanoma skin cancer. Sixteen patients met these criteria and data from their electronic medical records was recorded.

RESULTS

Demographic and treatment information for the 16 patients is shown in Table 1. The patients were on average 62 years old.
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