Malignancy-Associated Generalized Granuloma Annulare in a Japanese Patient with Stomach Cancer and Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Granuloma annulare is a benign granulomatous dermatosis with variable clinical presentation. It is of unknown origin and results in erythematous, brown, or skin-colored annular plaques usually found over boney surfaces on the extremities. The main variants are localized granuloma annulare, subcutaneous granuloma annulare, perforating granuloma annulare, and generalized granuloma annulare. Systemic diseases proposed to have an association with granuloma annulare include diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, and various malignancies. Cohen [1] coined the term ‘malignancy-associated granuloma annulare’ to describe a form of granuloma annulare that is temporally associated with a malignant process, in which the onset of granuloma annulare coincides with the discovery of a previously unsuspected neoplasm or metastatic disease, and the course of the granuloma annulare also parallels that of the tumor. We present a Japanese patient with malignancy-associated generalized granuloma annulare as the first manifestation of stomach cancer based on diabetes mellitus.