Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus: Report of a Patient Who Subsequently Developed a Meningioma and Whose Skin Lesions Were Treated With Isotretinoin

Cancer has been reported in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A possible association of the development of hematologic malignancies in patients with SLE has been suggested. In some patients, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, a distinct subset of lupus erythematosus, has appeared, resolved, or both as a solid tumor-related paraneoplastic syndrome. A woman in whom a meningioma was diagnosed 44 years following the onset of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus is described; her skin lesions improved after starting isotretinoin therapy. The relationship between lupus erythematosus and neoplasia is summarized and the management of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus with retinoids is reviewed.