Actinic granuloma successfully treated with acitretin

• Published in: International journal of dermatology Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 163 - 166
• Main Authors: Stefanaki, C., Panagiotopoulos, A., Kostakis, P., Stefanaki, K., Petridis, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.02.2005; Blackwell Science; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Acitretin - therapeutic use; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Dermatology; Facial Dermatoses - drug therapy; Facial Dermatoses - pathology; Granuloma - drug therapy; Granuloma - pathology; Humans; Keratolytic Agents - therapeutic use; Male; Medical sciences; Photosensitivity Disorders - drug therapy; Photosensitivity Disorders - pathology; Human; Case study; Granuloma; Acitretin; Chemotherapy; Photodermatosis; Treatment; Dermatology; Retinoid; Elderly
• ISSN: 0011-9059; 1365-4632
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2005.02043.x

Actinic granuloma is a rare skin disorder that develops in an area of actinic elastosis. The pathogenesis of the disease is obscure but the most accepted hypothesis implicates the solar radiation as the triggering factor. Typically the disease presents in middle‐aged individuals with significant past sun‐exposure and involves mainly the sun‐exposed skin. It manifests as asymptomatic annular patches with elevated borders and central atrophy and shows little tendency to regression. Several treatments have been tried with variable success. We present a 74‐year‐old male who consulted our department for annular atrophic plaques involving his forehead and nose, present for 8 months and insidiously spreading but otherwise asymptomatic. A biopsy confirmed the clinical suspicion of actinic granuloma and excluded other possibilities. Our patient was commenced on acitretin 25 mg/day and showed a remarkable improvement within a year; the lesions stopped spreading and almost disappeared.