Remission of Antiepiligrin (Laminin-5) Cicatricial Pemphigoid After Excision of Gastric Carcinoma

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe a case of antiepiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid with unusual ocular manifestations and its remission after surgical removal of gastric carcinoma. METHODS: We describe a 61-year-old Japanese man with antiepiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid. RESULTS: He presented with conjunctival injection and discharge preceded by a 6-month period of erosive lesions in the oral mucosa and the truncal skin. An advanced gastric carcinoma was found and his serum immunoprecipitated laminin-5. Despite topical treatment with betamethasone, ofloxacin, and artificial tear solutions, serious symblepharon along the Meibomian line developed with little shortening of the inferior conjunctival sac. Following radical gastrectomy, the ocular and cutaneous lesions turned completely quiet. CONCLUSION: The present case differed from past cases by lacking inferior conjunctival sac shortening and by showing erosive lesions solely at the mucocutaneous junctions. The ocular involvement in this case correlated very well with the severity of gastric carcinoma.