TUESDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Antiestrogen drugs may be an effective treatment for skin rash due to the autoimmune condition dermatomyositis, according to a case report published in the January issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Danya Sereda, M.D., of the University of Montreal in Canada, and a colleague observed two breast-cancer patients whose dermatomyositis-associated skin eruptions responded to antiestrogen medication. The first patient's rash resolved during a four-year course of tamoxifen, but returned after tamoxifen was discontinued. The second patient's rash subsided completely after one month of treatment with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole.
These improvements may have been caused by the inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-alpha production by immune or other cells, according to the authors.
"The cases we have reported illustrate the potential for antiestrogen medications to modulate dermatologic diseases such as dermatomyositis," the authors conclude. "Studies with larger groups of patients and longer observation periods are needed to better define the relationship between autoimmunity and hormonal status in dermatomyositis as well as the risks and benefits associated with antihormonal therapy in the long term."
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