Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated epidermodysplasia verruciformis eradicated after interferon-α and ribavirin treatment

摘要

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) results from an innate or acquired defect in cell-mediated immunity specific for human papillomavirus (HPV). The mechanism for this remains unclear, but it leads to a lifelong high susceptibility of keratinocytes to the virus. The condition is more frequent (40%) among Japanese subjects, and about 50% of EV cases are inherited, classically presenting in childhood with red-brown verruca plana-like lesions on the extremities and face. However, increasing numbers of descriptions of acquired EV-like lesions in adults with immunosup-pressed disorders such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection highlight special features in this population concerning HPV types and clinical presentations, especially in black skin. Moreover, HIV-infected individuals who develop EV seem to be highly susceptible to rapidly progressing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) appears to be ineffective on both esthetic and prognostic criteria. We report the first clinical recovery of HIV-associated EV after pegy-lated interferon (IFN) therapy associated with ribavirin.