Cancer Science & Research Open Access

Keywords: Hyperpigmentation- Intravenous Chemotherapy-Serpiginous

Serpiginous supravenous hyperpigmentation is a rare clinical event that occurs almost exclusively after peripheral intravenous chemotherapy. A patient of 40 years old diagnosed with cavum carcinoma and received fluorouracile and Cisplatine chemotherapy. After the second cycle, hyperpigmentation appears in the left forearm, clinical examination found serpiginous hyperpigmented streaks along the course of the superficial veins (figure 1) without any other mucocutaneous lesions. Initially described with 5FU and also reported with other molecules such as vinorelbine, cisplatin, Bleomycin, doxorubicin, actinomycin, docetaxel, fotemustine, it does not require specific therapeutic and doesn’t impose any dosage reduction. The majority of reported cases involve men, often with dark skin. This reaction gradually disappears within a few months after stopping chemotherapy. The pathophysiological assumption most often described is that of a direct cytotoxic effect of the molecules on the basal keratinocytes and melanocytes, after partial alteration of the vascular endothelial wall and passive diffusion.