MALIGNANT ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS WITH FLORID PAPILLARY ORAL LESIONS

Acanthosis nigricans is a distinctive skin disease of importance, beca use it has served as an external marker for a variety of systemic diso rders including endocrinopathies and malignant tumors of internal orga ns. It typically appears as hyperpigmented, roughened plaques of velve ty consistency and infrequently as verruca-like papillations. The oral cavity and lips can be affected by florid papillary growths. Because of its rarity and nonspecific microscopic appearance, clinical recogni tion of acanthosis nigricans continues to be a challenge. A case of mu cocutaneous ''malignant'' acanthosis nigricans is presented in which p igmented skin lesions led to the discovery of a gastric adenocarcinoma , which in turn was followed by the appearance of massive oral papillo matosis. No effective treatment was found.