Epidermodysplasia verruciformis in an HIV-infected man: a case report and review of the literature.

Abstract

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a rare genodermatosis, first described by Lewandosky and Lutz in 1922.1 This premalignant lesion has occurred de novo, as well as in patients with impaired cell-mediated immunity, including those infected with HIV, systemic lupus erythematosus2 (SLE), or lymphoma,3 or those who have received a solid organ transplant.4 In immunocompromised and immunocompetent populations, typical clinical findings are similar, and include pityriasis versicolor-like macules, as well as flat papules and lesions resembling verruca plana. Characteristic histologic features of the disease are the coexistence of epidermal thickening, a loose horny layer with a basketweave–like appearance, and the presence of large cells in the spinous and granular layers of the skin, presenting with a large blue-gray cytoplasm often associated with a perinuclear halo.5,6