Acrokeratosis paraneoplastica in serous ovarian carcinoma: case report

BACKGROUND: Acrokeratosis paraneoplastica is a rare paraneoplastic phenomenon associated with upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas, usually manifesting as psoriasiform keratosis over the acral sites. It is primarily seen in white males above the age of 40 years. Here we report a case of paraneoplastic acrokeratosis in a woman with serous ovarian cancer. To the best of our knowledge, no similar case has been reported previously. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 60-year-old woman diagnosed with a serous ovarian cancer and complaining of a thickening and peeling of the skin on her feet. Clinical and histological examination, as well as the course of disease, confirmed the diagnosis of a paraneoplastic plantar keratosis. Under systemic chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel the lesion resolved gradually in concordance with tumour marker CA 125. CONCLUSIONS: We present the reported case of paraneoplastic acrokeratosis associated with advanced high-grade ovarian cancer.