Porokeratosis of the skin in an immunosuppressed patient

Porokeratosis is a chronic, progressive disease of hereditary origin, characterized by the formation of annular, flat lesions with elevated scaly borders. It appears as a few clinical variants that differ mainly in the mode of spread of the lesions and age of onset. In recent years immunosuppression has been found to initiate appearance of the disease or cause its exacerbation. We present a 39-year-old man who developed porokeratosis a year after commencing immunosuppressive treatment following a heart transplantation. There is a relationship between the immune system, malignant transformation and porokeratosis.