Sign of Leser-Trelat Follow-up

  • Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD   more...
 
Updated: May 18, 2012
 

Further Outpatient Care

Patients should be periodically evaluated in an appropriate clinical setting.

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Complications

The reappearance of the sign of Leser-Trélat after it is eliminated with removal or treatment of the underlying cancer may signify cancer recurrence.

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Prognosis

The course of the sign of Leser-Trélat is variable. It often parallels the underlying malignancy, although this is not uniformly true. Most patients with it have a solitary malignancy. One patient had 2 primary cancers: breast and stomach.[43]

Most of the malignant tumors associated with this sign behave in an aggressive manner. Thus, the prognosis of patients with the sign of Leser-Trélat is not good; the survival rate averages about 10.6 months.[44]

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH  Professor and Head, Dermatology, Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Sigma Xi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Takeji Nishikawa, MD  Emeritus Professor, Department of Dermatology, Keio University School of Medicine; Director, Samoncho Dermatology Clinic; Managing Director, The Waksman Foundation of Japan Inc

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

David F Butler, MD  Professor of Dermatology, Texas A&M University College of Medicine; Chair, Department of Dermatology, Director, Dermatology Residency Training Program, Scott and White Clinic, Northside Clinic

David F Butler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for MOHS Surgery, Association of Military Dermatologists, and Phi Beta Kappa

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Warren R Heymann, MD  Head, Division of Dermatology, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School

Warren R Heymann, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American Society of Dermatopathology, and Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Glen H Crawford, MD  Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Dermatology, The Pennsylvania Hospital

Glen H Crawford, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society of USAF Flight Surgeons

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD  Director, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York

Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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Middle-aged woman with a Christmas tree-like distribution of seborrheic keratoses on her back with no evidence of internal cancer.
 
 
 
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